





^•0 






A^ 











/ 







^^^ ..I 



0^ ^^^y^^?^-',^ v:-^^ ' 



,-v 






\ 









^ o X*^ <^. 



"oc 



*^ 










^% 









-" ,0 






'^•^' ^ 
























c'^<> 






..^^' '^/^. 




I*'ll\ II. I'.WI- 



THE AMERICAN TURF 



BY 

JOHN H. DAVIS 



HISTORY OF THE THOROUGHBRED, TOGETHER "WITH 

PERSONAL REMINISCENCES BY THE AUTHOR, 

WHO, IN TURN, HAS BEEN JOCKEY, 

TRAINER AND OWNER 



PRINTED BY THE 

JOHN POLHEMUS PRINTING COMPANY 

NEW YORK 

1907 



USRARYofCONQRESS 
Two CoDlw Received 

tu. Cooyrlffht Entry 
CLASS 4 KXc'mNo, 
COrY B. 



COPYRIGHTED igo6 

BY 

JOHN H. DAVIS. 






zif 



PREFACE 

For a decade more than the three score years and ten 
allotted by a gracious Providence to man I have been awaiting 
the solemn call which comes to all human kind to weigh in, 
and then to the great Steward make account of the use to 
which I put the opportunities that came to me. 

In the active competition of life, when rivalries were 
keen, when ambitions created new fields and contests kept 
alert both mind and body, there was little time, indeed, to do 
more than merely store away in unclassified groups in 
memory events and incidents each one deserving of a sep- 
arate chapter. To write a history of the American turf had 
long been a cherished project, but each day of a life of 
practically unremitting and exacting labor interfered until 
the westering sun of my eightieth year warns me that I must 
be up and doing if I would achieve my cherished ambition 
and leave behind me something which I trust will be worthy 
tribute to the best and the noblest sport that it is given to 
man to enjoy. 

If in the chapters which are to come there should be 
noted a tone of enthusiastic optimism, let the reader realize 
that sixty-five years of my life were spent in the activities of 
the turf as a jockey, a trainer and an owner; that I have 
seen, and in many of them personally participated, practically 
all of the great contests which gave fame to our thorough- 
breds ; that I have traveled on foot through valleys and over 
mountains, when but rough paths pointed the way between 
places now drawn close together by the bands of great trunk 
line railroads, leading the horse that was on conquest bent ; 
that I spent weary weeks on journeys that now would be but 
the occupation of one brief day of luxurious travel ; that I 
have seen the upward and the onward progress which has 
marked the rise of the thoroughbred in America from a 
little meet in some isolated though sport-loving place to the 
magnificent seasons of Belmont Park. 

No optimism of my earliest and most enthusiastic days 
could have possibly created for me a grander vista than that 



which in reality has come. No dream that I might have had 
more than a half century ago could have conjured up the 
multitude that on last Decoration Day I saw pass through the 
gates of the vastest and the best appointed race course in the 
world. No fancy of the years gone by could have pictured 
the popularity of the sport which has so entwined itself 
about the American thoroughbred. A long cry truly from 
famed old Governor Gary's Lane, where our own Washing- 
ton of ever blessed memory presided and where he raced his 
own horse Magnolia, to the great courses which now cater 
to the scores of thousands who pay their devoirs to our noble 
horse. 

Nor do I believe that we yet have reached our highest 
in the sport. It is better conserved to-day, it has a more 
popular patronage, it is better regulated than ever before. 
It is difficult to maintain one's poise and listen to the croak- 
ings of those who allege they fear disaster and already can 
discern ruin. Racing has had its dark days, as what sport 
or what man or what nation has not, and it may continue so 
to have at uncertain periods. But I have been in it a life- 
time longer than it has been the good fortune of many to 
enjoy, and I have seen its good name assailed, and its patrons 
criticised, and attempts made to thwart its progress; but 
ever and always it has come out of its difficulties better and 
stronger than it was. 

And it did so because of the love of contest which is 
characteristic of the American people. The American citizen 
is essentially a man who glories in struggles for supremacy; 
whether it be man or horse that battles, his sympathies are 
at once enlisted and aroused. The red blood that courses in 
his veins — the blood that has built nations and that has made 
of empires republics — the blood that to-day dominates the 
world — is quickened by the sight of contest. It glories in the 
battles of the thoroughbred, whose blood is uncontaminated 
and whose life is conquest. Tell me not that the day will 
ever come when the American citizen will look with either 
disfavor or indifference on a field of thoroughbreds. Tell 
me not that there is anywhere a scene so inspiriting as two 
horses locked in struggle, neither flinching and neither yield- 
ing, their veins in tension standing out like whipcords on 
their silken sides, their eyes aflame with interest, their nostrils 



distended with excitement, giving up their best effort out of 
exclusively a natural desire to conquer. No prizes for them 
if they win ; no fortunes go with the victory ; winner or loser 
they go back to the stalls, conqueror and vanquished treated 
alike — the only sport in the world where two combatants 
struggle with all their might without individual glory save 
the appreciation in which the public holds them. 

But I am digressing and discussing an impossible condi- 
tion instead of confining myself to a word as to the progress 
of the sport — a sport which is at once a great and an important 
industry and a most popular recreation. In our early days 
it was but natural that it should hold a minor place, for the 
molding of a nation was work that compelled man's best 
effort and man's whole time. But no sooner had the country 
put on its swaddling clothes than the thoroughbred was im- 
ported, and every year since then it has grown and has 
gathered popularity until it stands at the very top of all our 
recreations. 

Later in this book it will be my privilege to discuss this 
growth and the reasons therefor and also to point out the 
great practical value of the thoroughbred blood in improving 
the breed of horses. The Jockey Club — the governing body 
of the turf in the East — has inaugurated a Bureau of Breed- 
ing, which will do much to illustrate this to the public of the 
Empire State, and I have reason to believe that our National 
Government, through the Department of Agriculture, may 
move along a similar line. 

Before concluding this introduction I desire to say that 
for the inspiration for this book I am indebted to that princely 
sportsman, the late Leonard W. Jerome. Sitting on the 
veranda of the old club house at Jerome Park one autumn 
evening after the races, Mr. Jerome and his friend, the elder 
August Belmont, than whom no better friend the turf ever 
had, were speaking of the deplorable fact that the only 
records of the turf up to that time were in the fugitive form 
of newspaper articles. I chanced along and Mr. Jerome 
urged that I take up the work. To him, therefore, I am 
indebted for the inspiration of this book, and to him and to 
my best and truest friend, George C. Bennett, of Memphis, 
this work is dedicated by 

THE AUTHOR. 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Preface 5 

Story of Godolphin 1 1 

Our Early Racing i6 

Some Great Races 26 

Origin of Steeplechasing 38 

The Strain of Blood.. 4^ 

How I Became a Turfman — 47 

Won Every Stake --- 54 

Harry Gilmour's Victory 63 

My Recollections - - - 69 

Home of the Racer_ _ , 74 

Why They Won 80 

How to Ride 85 

How to Breed - 92 

How to Buy a Horse 97 

The Noted Jockeys and Trainers 102 

The Greatest Plungers 108 

Waning of the Gray 115 

Tales of the Turf 121 

Men I Have Met -- 126 

Some Noted Ringers 152 

Training for a Race 158 

How to Treat a Horse 163 

The Track Records i75 



HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN TURF. 



CHAPTER L 



The Story of Godolphin, the Arabian. 

While America is not the birthplace of racing and is not 
the country that first saw the merits of the thoroughbred 
horse, she now has the proud distinction of having been the 
country that encouraged the sport and brought it up to its 
present high standing. 

From the insignificant beginning, when the Dutch 
traders and burghers first raced their Flemish ponies about 
New Amsterdam, racing has grown to almost colossal pro- 
portions. The whole country is honeycombed with race 
tracks of the very grandest character, and there is not a 
state in the Union but has some kind of a course. If running 
is not promoted, the trotting interests are appreciated. 

Probably the first racing ever held was on the broad 
deserts of Arabia, where the turbaned disciple of Mahomet 
scampered about on his steed and challenged his neighbors 
to a contest of speed. If there were any regular races, how- 
ever, there is no record of them, but the fame of the Arabian 
steed was known as early as the beginning of the Christian 
era. 

It remained for France and England to introduce racing 
and the features that have grown about it. Of course, there 
were races during the time the Romans were ruled by the 
Caesars and even previous to that, but there was nothing of 
an organized nature and horses were not trained especially 
for the purpose. France seems to have had the first blooded 
horse of which there is any record. The Byerly Turk was 
taken there from Turkey in 1620, but it was long years after 
that before there was what could be termed racing. 

There were some men in England who made pretensions 
to scientific breeding, yet they knew but little compared 
with what is known now. Several Arabian horses were im- 
ported and they begat a sterling race when bred to the 



gentle mares of the British isles. Among the earliest of 
these importations was a celebrated stallion known as Bar- 
ley's Arabian, whose blood is yet to be found in the horses of 
this country and England and they are winning races day 
after day. 

But the grandest of these Arabians, in my opinion, was 
Godolphin Arabian, and, in this connection, a pretty little 
story regarding the discovery of this wonderful animal 
occurs to me. I heard it when a boy. The pasha of Arabia 
desired to bestow a compliment on the king of France and 
he sent him a number of beautiful Arabian kings and queens 
of the desert. Among them was one of especial symmetry, 
but the French had lately been involved in a war and their 
thoughts were far from racing and such matters. Their 
entire attention was fixed on how to recover from the ravages 
of the war. In consequence, the Arabian horses were neg- 
lected. Finally the king ordered his grooms to sell the 
horses for anything they would bring. 

The animals fell into the hands of traders and common 
people, who gave them no care, and gradually they declined 
until the horse in question drifted into the hands of a man 
who had a cart and hauled goods about the city of Paris. 
With every one of these horses sent to the king the pasha 
sent the groom that had had him in charge since he was 
foaled, and there was one poor fellow who had cared for this 
steed. He followed the carter about day after day, saw his 
beloved horse become blind, shaggy and ill looking, and his 
heart was touched to the very core. 

But one day there came a change. A gentle Quaker 
was passing through the streets with his daughter and they 
saw the carter beating the Arabian horse mercilessly. The 
girl's sympathetic heart was touched, and she persuaded her 
father to purchase the poor animal and get it out of the hands 
of the cruel driver. The Quaker paid over the money and 
stood wondering what he was going to do with the horse. 

At this juncture the Arabian groom approached and in 
a respectful manner told the story of the horse. He told of 
his love for the exile from the deserts of the spice-laden 
Araby the Happy and pleaded to be engaged to care for 
him. The daughter again interfered, and, woman like, she 
had her way. Soon the groom and the horse were comfort- 



t3 

ably installed in the stable ot the Quaker. With kind treat- 
ment and plenty to eat the horse began to round out and 
once more the graceful lines of symmetry were perceptible. 
Time passed and the cast-off Arabian horse became the 
most beautiful creature in that part of the city. 

The Quaker's daughter went from time to time to see 
the horse and listen to the praises of the groom. Finally 
she became so impressed with the animal that she used him 
as her saddle horse. But all this time the spark of fire in 
the blood of the horse was being slowly revived, for all the 
cruel treatment he had received had not quite extinguished 
it. One day he was feeling particularly frisky and he threw 
his fair rider and badly injured her. This so enraged the 
Quaker that he had the groom thrown into prison. 

The mother of Lord Godolphin, a celebrated English 
noble, was visiting in Paris, and, being a very charitable 
woman, she went with a number of other ladies to visit the 
prison. There she saw the poor Arab and listened pityingly 
to his story. Afterward she made an investigation and found 
that he had told her the exact truth. She saw the man again 
and he persuaded her to buy the horse from the Quaker. 
Then she sent both the horse and the groom to her son in 
England. 

The groom knew so much about horses that he was 
placed in charge of the stables of his new master, and, while 
acting in this capacity, occurred the incident that caused 
his temporary downfall. On the stock farm was Roxanna, 
by the Ball Galloway, a great mare of the day, and the lord 
desired to breed her to Hobgoblin, a grand stallion he owned; 
but the mare would have nothing to do with the English 
stallion and seemed to care for no horse save the despised 
blind Arab. The groom thought there was no horse like 
the one from his own deserts and he permitted the mare to 
go into the embrace of the Arabian. 

When Lord Godolphin learned of what had been done 
he was so enraged that he banished both the horse and the 
groom to a barren estate in Scotland. There the Arab built 
a small stone hut to shelter himself and the horse. For two 
years they lived there, and the Arab worked and procured 
food for both of them. 

In course of time the mare delivered a foal. It was a 



14 

delicate little creature, but every day he grew more and 
more beautiful. There were no such lithe and sinewy limbs 
on any of the yearlings of the stable. There was no such 
gracefulness in every movement, and the attention of every- 
body was directed toward the offspring of the despised 
Arabian sire. At length he was trained and put into a race. 
His owner thought he was a beautiful creature, but he had 
no great hopes for him. But when he ran away from every 
thing in the race and won from the best stock of old England 
he became deeply interested. Race after race was won, and 
there soon came a time when this colt was considered the 
mightiest race horse that ever looked through a bridle. His 
name was Lath and his fame was widespread. Inquiries as 
to his breeding began to be made. 

Then, for the first time, it occurred to Lord Godolphin 
that he had on his barren estate in Scotland probably the 
greatest sire ever known. He sent a special ambulance by 
a long and tortuous route into the Highlands, where the faith- 
ful groom and his charge were quartered, and they returned to 
the castle of the Godolphins in almost regal splendor. After 
that Godolphin the Arabian grew and increased in fame 
until a horse that did not have a strain of his blood in him 
was not considered a race horse at all. He so far over- 
shadowed the other Arabians of his time that they became 
considered but of mediocre quality. 

The blood of this mighty horse courses through the 
veins of all the best stock of America to-day and is the purest 
of the line that leads to the purple. One might go over the 
pedigrees of all the horses that are gaining distinction on the 
turf to-day and find that they finally lead back to the blind 
steed of the desert. He combined speed, endurance and 
gentleness in his makeup, all the essential points in a first- 
class thoroughbred. 

The sportsmen of America were quick to see that this 
was a great horse, and it was not long until several of his 
sons and daughters found their way across the ocean and 
were quartered in the stables of the planters of the New 
World. Here they thrived and produced a race that inherited 
all the best traits of the illustrious sire. 

The Byerly Turk was taken from France to England 
in about 1688 and was the founder of the famous Herod line. 



15 

The horse became the property of Sir Georg-e Byerly and 
was his charger during the battle of the Boyne. When the 
war was over Sir George took him back to England and 
placed him at the head of his breeding establishment. This 
is the line carefully traced : The Byerly Turk sired Jig, the 
latter Tartar, and then followed Partner, who sired Herod. 

Selim was the sire of the Matchem line and was also 
owned in England. These three lines are the most famous 
the world has ever known, and all the great horses in Europe 
and America contain these crosses. Diomed, the winner of 
the first English Derby in 1780, had all three of the strains. 
Sir Archie (the American Godolphin), whom I regard as 
one of the greatest horses ever bred in America, was a son 
of Diomed. This horse sired Florizel; Florizel is the sire of 
the dam of Boston, and Boston sired Lexington, which shows 
in a few words the excellence of his blood. 

However, this is a slight deviation. Old England, the 
mother of racing, had its grand race courses, its fine breed- 
ing establishments and its owners whose wealth justified 
them in indulging in the sport. They were true sportsmen, 
and there is nothing they would not have done to have im- 
proved upon the Arabian blood, had they but known how 
to have gone about it. But they soon had rivals in America. 

The men of the New World began to study the science 
of breeding. They mated the Arabian stock to mares judi- 
ciously and made up for the defects of the latter in the 
virtues of the former. The result was that the class of the 
stock gradually increased and became better and better. 
Year after year saw an improvement in the American horses. 
The best men in the country became identified with breeding 
and they gave it the most careful attention. 

But the Americans were not content with taking the 
best of the English sires. They invaded France and Austria, 
and finally imported a few Arabs themselves. In every 
instance they succeeded by their judicious management. 
Racing in the new world grew and flourished. Tracks were 
built at first like those in the old country, but then the 
Americans devised a plan by which the race at all its stages 
might be witnessed by the people and by which the horses 
would never be out of the sight of the man who had come 
to see the race. They built the first circular tracks and con- 
tinned to improve upon them. 



CHAPTER II. 
Our Early Racing;. 

From the very arrival of the first thorougbred in this 
country racing became popular. It was the chief recreation 
of the leisure class, and, though that class was exceedingly 
small in number, it was thoroughly enthusiastic, and, perhaps 
naturally, because of its smallness, contests took on the char- 
acter of quasi-sectional rivalries. It was the North against 
the South, or Virginia against Maryland, or New York against 
South Carolina, and so on, for, as I have said, men who had 
the wealth and the leisure to indulge in this most fascinat- 
ing of sports were few and far between in those days when 
our country was in that transition stage from a colony to a 
nation. 

Up until within approximately a dozen years of the 
War of Independence there was no regularly constituted 
race track worthy even of those days. In 1763, for example, 
we find the celebrated horse Selim meeting and beating Dr. 
Hamilton's imported horse Dove and others at four miles, 
two miles out on the main road between Annapolis and Bal- 
timore and return. Maryland always was a splendid racing 
colony, and letters in private collections tell of the great 
crowds that had gathered for the contest, traveling by horse- 
back in some instances a week's journey to be present at the 
race. 

In 1764 Selim again won a purse at Philadelphia, and 
about a year later beat True Britton over a regularly organ- 
ized course at four miles and repeat in a match. In the 
October of 1767 he won a purse of 100 guineas at the same 
place, distancing three others. His superiority was so un- 
challenged that it was not an uncommon thing to find him 
barred. It was not until 1768 that he met his first defeat, 
his conqueror being the imported horse Figure. 

In this connection it is pertinent to call attention to the 
fact that the worthy, time-honored course at Charleston, S. C, 
was the oldest well-organized course in the United States. 
It was not inaugurated until February 15, 1792, or nearly a 
quarter of a century after some had their existence in Penn- 



17 

sylvania. Let no reader misunderstand me ; I pay reverent 
homage to the gentlemen sportsmen of the Palmetto State, 
but inexorable history gives the laurel for the establish- 
ment of organized courses in this country to the State of the 
gentle Quaker. More's the pity that in the years which 
followed the great commonwealth of William Penn per- 
mitted itself to be outstripped in the race for eminence in 
this noblest of all our sports. 

It may be of interest to give a list of all the horses, 
especially the Arabians, imported into the United States 
before the Revolution. Accidentally omitted is Lindsey's 
Arabian, the only and first Arabian, ever imported into 
America up to or prior to the War of Independence. He 
was a gray, and commonly called " Lindsey's Arabian." He 
was landed in Connecticut in 1766, and was then four years 
old. His stock proved to be valuable, and many of his get 
were employed as cavalry horses in the army of the United 
States. 

In the stud he was successful. He was the sire of Gen- 
eral George Washington's Magnolia, Mr. Edelin's Tulip, Dr. 
Marshall's Hyder Ally, as well as a black horse belonging 
to Notly Young, and a gray which later found his way to Win- 
chester, Virginia. In connection herewith, I recount a list 
of Arabians and Barbs which have been brought into the 
United States since the Revolution. 

A horse and mare sent as a present by the^Bey of Tunis 
through his Ambassador, Meli Melle, to Thomas Jefferson, 
then President of the United States ; pedigree unknown. 

Arab Barb, a black, imported by Colonel Lear. He was 
large and strong, well proportioned, but not handsome. He 
was said to be sire of the dam of Fairfax. 

Bagdad, purchased by George Barkly, Esq., of New 
York, from Hassana De Gris, Minister to England from 
Tripoli, who imported him into England as a horse of 
pure Arabian blood. He was afterwards purchased by a 
company in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1823. 

Ballasteros, an Arabain, dark brown, who had been the 
property of Ferdinand, King of Spain. When the French 
army got possession of Madrid the stud belonging to the 
King of Spain was taken by the Spanish nobles, carried to 
Cadiz, and there sold. There Ballasteros became the property 



of R. S. Hackley, our consul at that place, who afterwards 
disposed of him to Captain Sin<:j;leton, of Philadelphia, who 
sold him to Thomas Guy, of Richmond (Broad Rock Co.), 
Va., in 1816. 

Busora, an Arabian, imported in 1820 by the Messrs. 
Ogden, of New York, 

The Jones, Arabian, foaled in 1820, a dapple gray, black 
legs, mane and tail, 15 hands high. He was purchased by 
Major Smith, an American consul at Tunis, who sold him to 
Commodore Jones, and by him was imported into this 
country in 1824. This horse ran at Gibraltar and performed 
well. 

Selim, an Arabian gray, presented by the Murad Bey 
to General Sir R. Abercrombie. After the General's death 
he became the property of Commodore Barron, who after- 
wards sold him to go to Kentucky. 

Winter's Arabian was captured as a yearling during 
the war of 1814 by the privateer Grampass, of Baltimore, 
Maryland. He was on board the brig Doris, one of His 
Majest)^'s transports, on her passage from Senegal to Ports- 
mouth, England, and was intended as a present to the then 
Prince Regent, afterwards George the Fourth. The horse 
was sold, and purchased by E. J. Winter, member of Con- 
gress from New York. He was 14 hands i inch high. 
This horse crossed well with most of the Kentucky mares in 
his time. 

John M. Clay's Rally, by imported Trustee. The dam 
of that good horse, Gerome Edger, was out of a Winter's 
Arab mare. She was also dam of Mat Davis and other good 
horses. Quite a number of his get were trained and per- 
formed well. 

These are the principal Arabs and Barbs that came to 
this country prior to the date of the Independence and 
long subsequent to the same period. An important con- 
signment came in the more recent )'ears through the enter- 
prise of that public-spirited gentleman, Mr. A. K. Richards, 
of Georgetown, Scott Co., Kentucky. Though well selected, 
they most signally failed to cross well with our best Ameri- 
can brood marcs. The best of their get was Transylvania, 
out of the famous mare P^Tytonfa, by Glencoe, who became 
famous when she beat the great Northern ideal. Fashion, 



19 

four-mile heats, in a match for $20,000 a side, over the Union 
Course, Long Island, New York. While on this subject it 
may prove interesting to modern readers of turf matters of 
the past that I should recur to the origin of the conflicts of 
the turf between the North and South, which were more 
protracted than the Trojan War, though they were con- 
ducted in a manner highly honorable to'all parties emulous 
not only to excel on the turf, but in the promotion of that 
good feeling best calculated to cement more strongly the 
bonds of our Union, as follows : 

During the autumn campaign of 1823 Sir Charles, then 
six years old, having beaten all competitors in several races, 
a challenge was injudiciously made in the public j)ress to run 
him against Eclipse, four-mile heats, the following May, on 
the Union Course, Long Island, or any Southern course, 
four-mile heats, for $5,000 or $10,000 a side, as might be pre- 
ferred by Eclipse. 

Eclipse was eight years old and had run but one race that 
season. The challenge was accepted and the larger sum 
named as most consonant with the fame of the two cham pions. 
Sir Charles proving amiss, half forfeit was paid, though in his 
unpromising situation a match on the spot was made to run 
them forthwith a dash of four miles for $15,000 a side. At 
the end of two miles Sir Charles broke down and Eclipse 
won almost without a contest. 

Confidence now to the fullest extent being reposed in 
him, a match was made by John Stevens, of New York, with 
Col. Wm. R. Johnson, of Virginia, to run Eclipse four-mile 
heats the following May on the same Union Course against 
any competitor to be produced at the starting post for 
$20,000 a side, the rules of the Union Course to govern, 
which, from the relative weights, were known to be more 
unfavorable to young horses over the Northern tracks than 
the regular tracks of the South. 

All others had then trained off in Virginia, partly from 
the severe mode of running three-year-olds, but in some 
measure as characteristic of her fashionable stock, at which 
time all horses dated their age from the first of May. 

Thus, a horse foaled any time in the year 1819 would be 
considered four years old on the first day of May, 1823. 

Eclipse was foaled at Dosoris, Queens County, Long 



20 



Island, New York, on the 25th of May, 1814, was reared by 
General Nathaniel Coles, the breeder, in whose possession 
he remained until the 15th day of March, 1819, when he 
changed hands and became the property of Mr. Van Ranst. 
He was sired by Durock; his dam was Miller's Damsal, 
by imported Messenger, grandam the English Pot-8-os 
Mare, imported when three years old in 1795 by William 
Constable, Esq., of New York. Pot-8-os was sired by English 
Eclipse, his great-grandam by Jim Crack, he by Crip- 
ple, and Cripple by Godolphin Arabian. This horse was as 
much of a success when turned to the stud as a brood horse 
as he was famous as a performer, when on the turf, meeting 
and defeating all the best horses at all distances of his day, 

(Borrowed of Volume I, American Turf Register and 
Sporting Magazine.) 

A portrait accompanying this number of the celebrated 
racer and idol of the North, by name American Eclipse, was 
engraved by Du Rand and Wright, taken from the original 
painting, the property of Henry Hall, Esq., of New York, 
and was acknowledged by all good judges to be an excellent 
likeness. This horse was then 15 years old, a chestnut with 
a star and near hind foot white, was 1 5 hands i inch high, and 
possessed a large share of bone and muscle. 

At the death of Sir Charles, Eclipse was purchased by 
some Southern gentlemen, to take his place, who had up to 
this time stood at the head of the list of successful stal- 
lions in the South, and in this capacity Eclipse continued 
to add to his fame. 

At first in this country there were just the straight 
courses of England, and many a merry race was had in 
Governor Gary's Lane. It is said that General Washington 
once presided as judge at a race there, and that his decision 
was satisfactory to everybody. Thomas Jefferson, the father 
of Democracy, owned a race horse in those days. While 
there is no recorded instance of the horse having won any 
great races, he must have been victorious in some of them, 
for he sold for a big price. There were many great races of 
the olden times, and thousands of dollars were wagered and 
won and lost on the results, for the pioneers were sports- 
men of the most noble and liberal type. If they fancied 



21 



the chances of one horse, they were willing to stake every- 
thing they possessed on him. 

This is instanced in the story of one of the earliest of 
these contests. It occurred away back at a time when no 
record was kept of the matter save the barest details. In 
Cobb County, N. C, there lived a very rich family, and they 
had the best horse there was in the surrounding country. 
He was truly a handsome animal and had all sorts of speed, 
but he had not been trained. It was the proud boast that 
this animal could defeat any horse in the State, although the 
family would never for an instant have considered themselves 
turfmen. They boasted of his prowess on every occasion, 
and often they went to the grocery store kept by a canny Scot 
and spoke of what this horse could do in the way of running. 
Now, it happened that this Scot had just moved into the 
country and was not making much of an effort to get any 
trade. He did not seem to care whether business came to 
him or not. He was ready to take a drink, close up his 
business and have a good time, and everybody soon got to 
like him. He had a horse. His name was Trickem and he 
was by Janus, the own son of Godolphin the Arabian. But 
he did not let anybody know of the pedigree of his horse. 
He simply tried to "make himself a good fellow." 

One day a scion of the rich family called at the store, 
somewhat under the influence of liquor, and resumed his 
boastings. 

" I think my horse could beat him if it came to a race," 
said the storekeeper. 

" Have you any money to bet on it?" asked the South- 
erner. 

" I have some money," replied the Scotchman, " but 
there is hardly enough, and I will put up my store and bet 
it." 

" Agreed," said the lad, and he went home and told his 
father, mother, sisters and brothers, who said he had acted 
properly under the circumstances. It was as much the 
Southern pride as anything, but, at the same time, they be- 
lieved they had the race as good as won. 

On the day following the Scotchman showed he was in 
earnest by having his stock appraised and put up in 
boxes ready for moving in case he lost. Then he sent for 



the father of the family and asked him if the race was to be a 
bona fide thing. The latter promptly informed him with 
great dignity that he was responsible for anything his son 
had said. So the money was placed in the hands of the stake- 
holder and the time for the race arrived. The villagers al- 
most to a man were wagering their money on the horse of 
the rich family, as they had seen him work and they 
thought he was the superior of any horse that ever trod a 
track. 

A strange coincidence was that there immediately came 
an influx of strangers into the town, and they were all 
Scotchmen, and were introduced as relatives of the owner 
of Trickem. The time for the race came, and the horses 
went to the post. They got off to a good start, and Trickem 
at once took the lead and kept it all the way, never faltering 
for an instant, winning by more than a hundred yards. 
Now, when it is considered that the neighbors wagered ne- 
groes, farms, cotton and all they possessed on the result, some 
idea of the state of affairs that prevailed at this time may be 
gained. 

The Scotchman had his goods already packed, and he 
lost no time in getting out of the country. He was never 
heard of afterward. Trickem may not have been a ringer 
and brought there for the sole purpose of winning this money, 
but the circumstances were against him. However, he was 
never heard of again, as far as there is any record. The ad- 
vent of the Scotchman made that town poor for years and 
years. 

An important race of these days was that between Char- 
lotte Temple, Sussex, Rat Catcher and Red Rover. It was 
a post sweepstakes and took place over the Virginia course. 
Charlotte Temple was owned by Colonel William R. John- 
son and she won the race in two straight heats. When it is 
remembered that thousands of dollars were bet on this race 
its importance is understood. Charlotte Temple was a full 
sister to the famous Gohanna. 

There was a great race between Selim, Old England, 
Granby and Northumberland at Philadelphia in 1767. 
At the start Selim, the mighty, sped to the front and held 
the lead all the way around. The others could never come 
within striking distance of him. Old England was the near- 



23 

est contender, and he was a good horse, too, full of fire, speed 
and endurance. In the second heat Old England clung close 
to the fianks of the bay Selim and held there until the last 
quarter was reached. Then he flew the course and Selim 
came in and won as he pleased. A great deal of money 
changed hands on this race. 

But there was scarcely a time in the history of the early 
days that there was not a contest of some kind between the 
North and South, and the natives of both sections backed 
their favorites with all they had. One of the prime factors 
in promoting these matches was Colonel William R. John- 
son. He made probably more matches than any man alive 
and wagered more money on the results than the heaviest 
plungers of to-day are wont to do. In the whole history of 
the American turf there is probably no man who deserves 
more credit for what he has done in the way of promoting 
racing than Colonel William R. Johnson. But I have no 
desire at this time to eulogize this gentleman. In another 
part of this work I will speak of him at length and will give 
my impressions of him. 

It was he who brought about the great race between 
Boston and Fashion, in which the latter won, and there is no 
notable match of this period in which he did not have a 
hand. He owned some of the grandest horses that ever 
set foot on a track, and as long as there is racing in the world 
the name of William R. Johnson will be remembered and 
respected. 

In those days the distances were always long, and a horse 
had to have some bottom and staying qualities to win. Ariel 
was one of the greatest mares of her time. One of her noted 
races was run against the fleet-footed Flirtilla in October, 
1830. It was over the Union course on Long Island for a 
purse of $20,000, three-mile heats. Both had great speed, 
and they had admirers from one ocean to the other. During 
the first mile of the first heat Flirtilla was kept far behind, 
according to instructions, although she fought for her head, 
but on the second mile she was turned loose and permitted 
to do what she could. She shot ahead, maintaining the lead 
until the last quarter was reached. Then Ariel stepped in 
and won. 

The trainer of Flirtilla saw that the chance of the mare lay 



24 

in her getting away well, and he told the jockey to take her 
to the Iront at once. The boy did so, and she maintained 
the lead all the way around, wearing out her agile adversary. 
The third heat was a repetition of the preceding one. Flir- 
tilla had tired Ariel, and she stepped out and won all the 
way without the slightest difficulty. In the last heat Flir- 
tilla was about eighty yards to the good, and she did the work 
in 5:54. 

Another remarkable race was that of Leviathan against 
Brimmer. The former carried 180 pounds and the latter 90 
pounds. It was for a distance of five miles, and was run at 
Tappahannock, Virginia, in 1701. The lightly- weighted 
Brimmer, who was, by the way, fleet of foot and full of all 
kinds of speed and endurance, took the lead at the fall of the 
flag and held it all the way around to the last quarter. Then 
the bulky rider of Leviathan called on the son of The Flag 
of Truce and he responded nobly. He quickly closed the 
gap there was between them and forged to the front under 
the wire by a head. The Brimmer beaten on this occasion 
was not Colonel Goode's Brimmer, but another of the same 
name. Still he was a fast horse and deserves credit for the 
game race he ran, even though he had far the better of the 
impost. 

On October 30, 1830, there was a celebrated race run at 
the Rocky Mount track in Virginia between Red Gauntlet, 
a famed horse, and Aratus. It was a famous race and was 
for $30,000 a side, two-mile heats. The owners of the two 
horses were mortal enemies, and each hoped the other would 
lose all his earthly possessions. They put up their money as 
long as they had anything to put up. Red Gauntlet took 
the lead at the start and held it all the way around to the last 
quarter, when Aratus challenged him. Then began the tug 
of war, and each boy whipped his horse until the blood 
flowed in a crimson stream down his sides. The sharp spurs 
worn in those days were dug deeply into the flesh, and they 
spared nothing to win. But, in spite of all the game Aratus 
could do, Red Gauntlet forged to the front when they were 
head and head and won by a short neck. 

His owner was not discouraged and was just as game as 
when he had first had the blanket taken off his horse. He 
wagered at this juncture what he could borrow from his 



25 

friends. As before, Red Gauntlet got the better of the start, 
and they sped over the course with Aratus close behind. 
The boy had his instructions to let Red Gauntlet make the 
running to the last half and then to set him such a merry 
clip that he could not hold on. On and on they went, and 
when they arrived at the last half the rider of the sturdy 
Aratus plied whip and spur, but work hard as he could he 
was unable to get a bit more speed out of the animal. Ara- 
tus had done his best and was near the jumping off spot. On 
the other hand, Red Gauntlet was getting his second wind, 
as the saying is. His rider realized that the boy on Ara- 
tus was going to make a mighty effort to win about the 
time he did so, and he also applied whip and spur. Red 
Gauntlet shot ahead and won by seventy or eighty yards. 
This race ruined several of the best families of that time in 
the South, and it will never be forgotten by their descend- 
ants. 



CHAPTER m. 

Some Great Races. 

There was probably no race ever run in the history of 
the country that attracted as much attention as did that 
between Wagner and Grey Eagle in 1839. As in all the 
other great races, it was between the North and the South, 
and these two sections were arrayed against each other in 
the betting. 

Grey Eagle was a four-year-old gray horse by Wood- 
pecker out of Ophelia, by Wild Medley, and was owned by 
A. L. Shotwell, of Kentucky. Wagner was a five-year-old 
chestnut horse by Sir Charles out of Maria West, by Marion, 
and was owned by John Campbell, of Maryland. 

The race took place at Louisville and was run over the 
old Oakland course. Stephen Welch, a white boy, had the 
mount on Grey Eagle, while Cato, a little black negro be- 
strode the Maryland horse. Wagner won the first heat, 
shaking off Grey Eagle on the last turn. Up to that time it 
was thought by the Kentuckians that the gray horse had a 
chance. 

The next and deciding heat was won by Wagner, after 
one of the grandest battles ever fought. All the way around 
Grey Eagle led, with Wagner hanging on closely. First 
one surged ahead and then the other. The result was al- 
ways in doubt, but Wagner finally won by a neck. The 
time was 7:48 and 7:44. 

Thad Stevens won a four-mile-race in California from 
True Blue and several others. It attracted some attention 
in the West at the time, from the fact that it was thought to 
have been an unfair one. The other horses were thought to 
have been pulled. 

Boston and Fashion ran a four-mile race over the Union 
Course at Long Island in 1842, in which Fashion won. The 
race was hotly contested, but Fashion was first in both heats. 

Rudolph and Angora raced over the old Oakland track 
at Louisville in a match, and the former was easily the victor. 
Considerable money was wagered on the result, and the 



27 

match attracted some attention, as it was considered a con- 
test between Kentucky and Tennessee. Rudolph repre- 
sented Kentucky and Angora stood for the honor of Ten- 
nessee. 

Probably the last great race of all the long distance con- 
tests was that between Ten Broeck and MoUie McCarthy. It 
took place at Churchill Downs on July 4, 1878, and resulted 
in a victory for the former. Ten Broeck was owned by 
Frank B. Harper and was by imp. Phaeton out of Fanny 
Holton, by Lexington. He was bred in Kentucky and car- 
ried the colors of the grand old commonwealth, as Kentuck- 
ians are wont to designate their state. MoUie McCarthy 
was owned in California, but she was bred in Tennessee. A 
match was arranged between them for $20,000 a side, and a 
special train brought Mollie McCarthy and a thousand 
Californians to " the dark and bloody ground." The Ken- 
tuckians were loyal to the great son of Phaeton and 
wagered everything they had on the result. But the 
people from the Golden Gate were said to have brought 
fortunes with them for the purpose of betting, and they 
quickly covered every wager. 

Ten Broeck took the lead from the start, but Walker, 
his rider, was a diplomat and he did not race his horse out 
at the very outset and exhaust his speed. He rated him along 
for the first three miles nicely, always leaving Mollie close 
behind. When the finish came Ten Broeck was first under 
the wire, but the game California mare was not far away. 
Then when the concluding heat came it was apparent that 
the Californian was fast tiring, and Harper gave instructions 
to set a clip that would end the matter, for he was positive 
that his horse had the bottom that the mare lacked. 

Around the course f^ew the mighty Ten Broeck. Three 
times the circle was made and Mollie was staggering. 

" One thousand even that Mollie does not pass under 
the wire again," yelled Yankee Bligh, the greatest detective 
the South ever knew. 

" Done," said a patriotic Californian, and the money 
was put up in the hands of Major William Owens, who, by 
the way, was afterward a noted detective of Louisville and 
the South. 

Mollie was staggering. Her race was nearly run. At 



28 

the three-qviarters she came to a dead standstill and Ten 
Broeck romped in a winner. The mare was led over to the 
stable, and for several hours a veterinary worked with her 
before he was able to sa}' her life was saved. 

The great race run by Lexington at Lexington, Ken. 
tucky, in 1853, should not be omitted while we are on the 
subject. In the Phoenix Hotel stakes he met Vandal, 
Garret Davis, Wild Irishman, Madonna, Fannie Fern and 
others of similar class. He won the first heat easily. Be- 
fore the next heat he ran off and ran one and three-quarter 
miles, but, in spite of this mishap, he stepped in and won the 
succeeding heat. The importance of this race will be 
understood when it is known that every one of the other 
horses engaged in the contest afterward was distinguished as 
a race horse. 

During the same week Lexington met Midway and de- 
feated her in two straight heats. Afterward he was pur- 
chased by Captain William Viley, Richard Ten Broeck and 
Junius Ward. They sent him to New Orleans, where he 
won the State Stakes from Le Compte, Highlander and 
Rube. He was afterward beaten by Le Compte, because 
he was pulled up at the end of three miles by the jockey 
through a mistake. Le Compte went on and opened a big 
gap. Lexington was unable to make it up later. This heat 
was run in 7:26, the best that had ever been run up to this 
time. 

In the following year T. W. Doswell, through John Minor 
Botts, bet $20,000 with Richard Ten Broeck that his horse 
Lexington could not beat 7:26, the time in which he had been 
beaten by Le Compte. Mr. Ten Broeck won his wager, and 
his horse covered the distance in 7:19^. Four horses 
were started with him to regulate the pace, one in each 
mile. Men with flags were stationed at each quarter pole 
around the track to show the jockey just how fast he was 
going and how to limit the pace. 

A reason why the merits of this horse have been dis- 
cussed at such length is that he was equally successful in the 
stud. All the great Leamingtons, with the exception of 
Longfellow and Rhadamanthus, were out of Lexington 
mares. Aristides, Enquirer, Hyder Ali, Nettie Norton and a 
host of others assisted in perpetuating the fame of the great 



29 

Lexino^ton. All this goes to show that the Lexington mnres 
bred to Leamington are responsible to a marked extent for 
the latter's success in the stud. 

A thrilling episode of the early turf days, and one not so 
far back but there will be many who will also remember it, and 
there are perhaps many who were present and witnessed 
the occurrence, as I did, occurs. Prince McGrath was as 
game and honorable a turfman as there was anywhere. He 
owned Aristides, known as "the little red horse," the winner 
of the first Kentucky Derby. Of course, Harper thought 
Ten Broeck was the fastest horse that ever set foot on a 
track, and, although he never made a wager of any kind, 
depending solely on the purses and stakes he won for his 
profit, he was always ready to race his horse. 

While Aristides had won the Derby, he was considered 
no match for the mighty Ten Broeck, and the people, as a 
general thing, thought Ten Broeck had the race arranged 
between them at his mercy, it was for two and five-eighths 
miles and was over the old Lexington track. The beauty 
and chivalry of the fair Bluegrass section was gathered there 
to witness the race. There were bookmakers in plenty on 
the grounds ready to take the money of those who desired 
to wager. But Price McGrath mounted a box and shouted 
to the people : 

" Come on if you want to bet against my horse. 1 will 
take all your money and give you the same odds the bookies 
offer. You will lose what you bet anyhow. You might as 
well give it to a neighbor whom you all know. Come on ; 
don't be afraid. 1 am here ready for business. You know 
me. You know I can pay and that I will do it. Give me 
your money. I need it." 

He had on a long linen duster with great big pockets, 
and soon they were bulging with money. He to(;k it in 
with both hands. Each man kept his own account. Mc- 
Grath gave out no tickets and depended upon the honor of 
the bettors to keep a correct account, for everybody was 
honest in those days and racing had not become the gambling 
game that it is now. Men told the truth and trickery was 
unknown. 

They were at the post. Bobby Swim had the mount on 
the little red horse and Billy Walker, a negro jockey, who 



30 

afterward became a well-known owner and trainer, bestrode 
Ten Broeck. In fact, the negro jockey always rode Ten 
Broeck and made all his records, for Harper set great store 
by his sable-hued rider. 

At the end of each mile Aristides led, and finally he came 
on and won handily. And in the mighty shout that followed 
his victory over the supposedly invincible Ten Broeck there 
was no voice that was half so loud as that of McGrath. Had 
he had to pay out the money that was wagered against his 
horse's chances he would have been poverty stricken and 
would never have been able to get on his feet again. But 
that night there was many a sparkling bottle of champagne 
opened and there was much merrymaking in consequence of 
the victory of Aristides. 

The race between Gray Medoc, Altorf and Denizen was 
a thrilling contest. It took place on the Louisiana course, 
April 4, 1 841, and thousands of people from all parts of the 
country were present and saw it. Enthusiasm was at its 
highest pitch, for all the contenders had hosts of admirers. 
The conditions were for four-mile heats for a Jockey Club 
Purse of $1,000, and it had been advertised from one end of 
the country to the other. 

The entries were Mr, John Campbell's Altorf (he owned 
the celebrated Wagner and Glovina), trained by Watson and 
Vanleer ; Mr. Boardman's Denizen, temporarily in the stable 
of Camp & Blevins, and Messrs. Kenner's Grey Medoc, 
trained by Washington Graves. Grey Medoc was well 
known as one of the fastest horses on the turf, and was in 
condition to run for a man's life. He was backed freely at 
3 and 4 to I against the field. Altorf, a capital performer in 
Virginia, where $10,000 was paid for him, had lost ground 
since his arrival in the South from having run several races 
while out of order. He had lately arrived, too, from Mobile, 
and suffered much from a stormy passage across the lake, as 
also had Denizen. 

Grey Medoc's trainer had frequently assured me that 
he was as game as any horse he ever trained, not excepting 
the fleet Luda. Just think of his running a heat in 7:35 and 
his eighth mile in 1:48, and a third heat of four miles in 7:42. 
Had the reader seen him come along up the quarter stretch 
at the close of his sixteenth mile — so gallantly and so beauti- 



31 

fully, his hit^h spirit unsubdued, with crest erect and di- 
lated nostrils — and observed his proud bearing and flashing 
eyes, he might have termed this equine prodigy the wraith 
of the matchless Bucephalus, the pride of Alexander the 
Great of Macedonia. Truly he was a picture, such as is suf- 
ficient at any time to gladden the heart of every true lover of 
the turf and its horses. 

The first heat was a dead one between Grey Medoc and 
Altorf ; time, 7:35. In the second heat there was also a 
struggle between these two monarchs of the land of racing — 
Grey Medoc and Altorf — but the latter won by less than a 
head ; time, 8:19. 

But Altorf was tiring and in the third trial Grey Medoc 
easily beat Altorf, although it is said the latter was laying up 
and not trying for this heat, leaving it to the other two. The 
time was 7:42. 

The result of this heat entitled but two to start for the 
fourth heat, Denizen being declared distanced for not having 
won a heat in three. He was withdrawn and sent to the 
stable, to the regret of every one. 

But Grey Medoc and Altorf were apparently fresh and 
full of fire. They were off together, running easily side by 
side for the two first miles ; but Grey Medoc was seemingly 
winning easily. Then there came a hush over the vast as- 
semblage. Altorf, who had made such a gallant struggle, 
had run his race. He was poor in flesh and he could not 
stand the awful strain. Lawson, the rider of Altorf, plied 
whip and spur and urged the splendid animal to his utmost. 
But his bolt had been shot and Grey Medoc was his master. 
John Ford, who had the mount on Grey Medoc, made a mas- 
terful effort. It was due to his skill and management of the 
horse under him that enabled him to win, and the public 
seemed to feel this fact. Chiffeny and Robertson could have 
done no better, and this piece of work stamped him as their 
equal. 

Coming out of the grand stand Ford was met by hun- 
dreds of people who had wagered their money on Grey 
Medoc, and they filled his hat with bank notes. There were 
seven or eight thousand dollars in the pile when he made 
his way home. In those days owners divided the purse with 
the trainer and the stable boys. The race was the talk of the 



32 

whole country for weeks. Some questioned the accuracy of 
the distance of the track, and it was decided to have a care- 
ful measurement made by the civil engineer of the State. 
This was done the next day and the track was found to be 
something over a mile, as the certificate showed. 

A great twenty-mile race took place over the Union 
Course at Long Island, and was won by Black Maria, who 
defeated Trifle, Lady Relief and Slim; the lormer was by 
Eclipse and the latter by Sir Charles' Relief, also by Eclipse. 
The great Slim, by Flying Childers, was also in the 
race, and it was a battle royal. Trifle was made the favor- 
ite. Black Maria's chances were thought lightly of, and she 
had few admirers. It was a struggle between the North and 
South. 

At the post Black Maria stood as motionless as a statue. 
She was perfectly cool and not in the least excited. It then 
began to be whispered about that she had a chance. They 
got off well together, Lady Relief taking the lead, with Slim 
close up. Trifle was next and Black Maria was absolutely 
last. It was apparent from the start that a waiting race was 
being run by all the riders, and that the winner was hardly 
likely to turn up until in the last turn of the heat. 

Black Maria moved up rapidly at the end of the second 
mile and took the lead, closely pressed by Trifle. Thus it 
was during the third mile. When about half the distance 
had been gone over in the fourth mile Trifle moved up and 
took the lead. She seemed to have it won until the last six- 
teenth. At this juncture the rider of Black Maria called on 
her and she responded nobly. Like a flash she shot past 
the fleet-footed Trifle and passed under the wire a winner. 
The time was 8:06. 

Trifle was still the favorite when the horses came to the 
post for the second heat, but the owner of the sable-hued 
mare bet everything he had on her chances. Lady Relief 
got off in front, with Slim second, Trifle third and Black 
Maria last. At the end of the mile Trifle took the lead. Slim 
quit in the third circuit and refused to run any further. By 
this time Black Maria had moved up from the rear and took 
the lead. At the last turn the boy on Black Maria turned to 
look back to see where Trifle was, and the latter, close be- 
hind, the result was a dead heat. But Black Maria was not 



33 

at all distressed, and seemed as chipper as when she had 
been led out for the start. 

Trifle took the lead for the third heat, with Lady Relief 
second and Black Maria, as usual, last. The black mare had 
got such a bad start, though, that she could not catch up, 
and Trifle won, though hard pressed by Lady Relief. 

Lady Relief got the best of the start for the fourth heat, 
with Trifle second and Black Maria last. Three miles were 
gone over in this way without a change of positions, and 
Lady Relief seemed to have won. Then Black Maria was 
urged, and she shot toward the front. Relief won by a neck, 
and sixteen miles had been run by the game thoroughbreds. 
At the start for the fifth heat Lady Relief was in front, 
Trifle second and Black Maria last. Trifle gave it up at the 
end of the nineteenth mile. Lady Relief was leading when 
the two contenders galloped into the stretch, but Black 
Maria was moving up. Now they were neck and neck, each 
boy riding like a demon. Slowly but surely the black mare 
drew away from her game antagonist, and finally passed 
under the wire a winner amid the plaudits of a great crowd. 
It was certainly a grand race, and illustrated beyond a 
doubt that Black Maria was one of the grandest mares the 
country has ever produced. At the conclusion of the twen- 
tieth mile she was not "all out'' by any means, and could 
have done another heat with ease. 

There have been many dead heats run on the race 
tracks of the world, but there was never one so great as 
that between Life Boat, Elakim and Prioress for Ihe Czaro- 
witch Stakes in 1856. Life Boat and Elakim were bred and 
owned in England and Prioress was the property of Richard 
Ten Broeck, of Kentucky. 

The three horses finished under the wire so closely 
together that the judges were unable to determine which 
had won. Another heat resulted in a victory for the 
American mare. 

Prioress was by sovereign, out of Reel, and was bred 
by Jefferson Wells, of Louisiana. Life Boat went into the 
race as a red hot favorite and the Britishers bet their 
money on his chances eagerly. The second choice was 
Elakim, and the American daughter of the great Reel was 
scoffed at by all save the few Americans who happened to be 



34 

present. A certain pride of nativity made them put down 
their dollars on the mare that carried the colors of the land 
over which the eagle screams and the motto of which says 
"Hustle." 

The British taunted the Americans and then out came 
dollars from yarn socks and every hiding- place, showing 
that the spirit of '76 was not only not dead, but was not 
even sleeping. Mr. Ten Broeck, who was a man with an 
immense amount of nerve, fairly poured the gold into the 
ring on his brown mare. 

It was and anxious crowd that watched that race from 
the grand stand, but Mr. Ten Broeck never for a moment 
faltered in his allegiance to his mare. 

" She will win," he said firmly, and his friends believed 
him. 

At the drop of the flag away flew the American mare, 
setting a furious pace. Old timers fairly held their breath 
and said no horse ever bred could stand such speed for any 
length of time. The two English horses were doing their 
best, but the gap gradually widened between them and the 
flying leader, who showed not the slightest sign of faltering. 
Indeed, she seemed to gain fresh strength with each fling 
forward of her lithe and silken-covered form. Life Boat 
stagered. His tail went up in the air. His race was run. 
Elakim, with the sturdy tenacity of his Arabian sires, clung 
on. But there was a limit to endurance. Elakim reached 
it. His struggle was ended. He could battle no more. 
Both horses, beaten, dropped back in the ruck, and for the 
remainder of the distance the twinkling heels of swift 
Prioress danced in their faces. 

Dismay filled the English hearts, and a shout went up 
from the little colony of Americans such as one only hears 
on the Fourth of July here at home. 

Thousands of English sovereigns were rapidly changed 
into American dollars, and Admiral Rouse, who was the 
judge, said Prioress was the best game animal of the year 
in the whole world. 

Of course, the great dead heat between Domino and 
Henry of Navarre was the greatest one of the kind ever run 
in America, and it is still fresh in the public mind. 



35 

Another was the dead heat between D'Artagnan and 
Ozark, the brown son of Pat Maloy and imp. Sunny 
South, which was run at Saratoga. It attracted attention 
everywhere on the face of the earth where the people are 
interested in the development of the thoroughbred. 

Of the many sensational races which have been run in Amer- 
ica during the last twenty-five years, none has given more 
general interest and concern than the great dead heat for the 
Saratoga Cup between Preakness and Springbock. When 
in the same race such brilliant performers as Grinsted, Wild 
Idle, Olitipa and Ruthiford were left to struggle so far in 
the rear, the time, 3m. 56i^s., was a record breaker, and 
remains the record up to this day. Another one of the most 
noted races which has taken place during the last twenty- 
five or thirty years on the American turf was the great 
struggle in the dead heat at Sheepshead Bay between those 
two giants of the turf, Dobins and Domino. There probably 
never was any race that took place in the vicinity of New 
York which created such local interest and enthusiasm as 
this one. The two memorable victories of the great Mono- 
chist over the celebrated Harry Bassett, there and then again 
in a few days, four miles, were very popular local victories, 
which came like an unexpected avalanche upon the betting 
public, but not so his trainer or his owner. 

One of the greatest races, especially over a distance of 
ground, was the four-mile heat race which took place over 
the Sheepshead Bay track and was between Fereader, Glen- 
more and some other whose name I don't recall at this time, 
and was won by Fereader in the best time ever made by 
any mare in the world, ym. 23s. The great strug- 
gles between Harry Bassett and the great Longfellow for 
the Monmouth Park Cup and the Saratoga Cup, in which 
they alternated successes, Longfellow winning and beat 
ing Bassett at Monmouth Park, and Bassett in turn beating 
Longfellow for the Saratoga Cup the same season. In this 
last race Longfellow pulled up lame and was never trained 
afterwards, but was consigned to the stud, where he greatly 
distinguished himself through his progeny. Another 
amongst the greatest races that ever took place at any time 
or place in America, in my humble opinion, and this opinion 
was shared by the two gentlemen who owned the horses 



36 

between which the race occurred — this was the race between 
Prince Leafe and Ben Brush, i ^ miles, 128 lbs. up, in 2m. 34s., 
track actually heavy. In talking over the race the fol- 
lowing day, both Mr. Michael Dwyer and Byron McClel- 
land agreed that it was by all odds the best race that either 
had ever seen run, Mr. Dwyer remarking that he believed 
that the race in question would have won any English 
Derby that had ever taken place. At that moment he re- 
marked : " I have nobody to blame but myself ; though 1 ran 
the best horse and lost, and lost my money also, 1 fully 
agree with them that unless the race run by Scisonby last 
fall, 2^ miles, over the Sheepshead Bay track, was as good, 
or perhaps better, I never saw any other as good." 

Another of the great races that made an epoch on the 
American turf close to the middle of the 19th century took 
place over the Woodlawn Course, near Louisville, Kentucky, 
the contestants in this race being Molly Jackson, by Vandal, 
out of Emily Right, by imported Margrave, and Colton, by 
Lexington, dam Topaze by imported Glenco; Sherod, by 
Lecompt, dam the famous Picayune, by Medock ; and al- 
though one of the fasiesi races ever run in the world, at the 
distance, even up to this day, and won at three heats by Molly 
Jackson, the first heat won by Molly Jackson in 5m. 35^8., 
Colton second, Sherod third and Betty Ward last in this 
heat. The second heat was won by Sherod, who led Molly 
Jackson by half a length, Colton third, time 5:34^ ; the third 
heat was lost to Molly Jackson by Mer Clay's horse Colton 
making a most palpable foul on Sherod, by carrying him 
clean out to the outside fence as Sherod started to make his 
run at the head of the last stretch, causing Sherod to lose at 
least five or six lengths, which he had to make up in less 
than a quarter of a mile, and was only beaten a neck on the 
post in fastest heat, less three-quarters of a second, which 
had been made in California by Norfolk, when he ran three 
miles in 5m. 27^s., this third heat won by Molly in 5:28^. 
It was evident that Sherod was the best horse inthis race and 
should have won but for Colton' s interference at the head 
of the stretch, which won the race for Mollie Jackson, beat- 
ing Sherod only a neck on the post with Bettie Ward third ; 
the last or ninth mile of this remarkable race was run in 
im. 48s., and the heat in 5m. 28^8. 



37 

Of the orreat fillies bred and raced on the American 
turf during- the last fifty years, if not during- any age of the 
American turf, there is not one who stands higher and justly 
so than does that little prodigy, Firenze. She beat all of the 
best race horses of her day, and was to the turf, as a mare, 
just what Salvator was as a horse. Firenze was by Glen- 
elge, out of Florida, and was foaled in 1884 at the Elmendorf 
Stud, near Lexington, Kentucky. A list of her victories 
during the seven years that she was on the turf would in- 
clude all of the great prizes. She met and defeated Han- 
over, The Bard, Exile, Tenny and other noted kings and 
queens of the turf. Some of her most noted achievements 
were the winning of the Harvest Handicap, the Monmouth 
Cup and the Monmouth Handicap in 1888, the Handicap 
Sweepstakes at Monmouth in 1889. 

Salina, the dam of Salvator, was a good race mare and 
granddaughter of the famous mare Levity, by imported 
Trustee. In his Levity strains Salvator had some of the 
bluest blood and the most highly prized in this country. In 
1889 he won all of the choicest prizes that are set apart for 
three-year-olds, except the Omnibus Stakes. In 1890 he 
reached the height of his glory ; that year was the scene 
of the fierce struggle with Tenny; he won the Suburban in 
2m. 6 4-5S., the best time that had yet been recorded 
for the event. His achievement was not a surprise, 
for he was a prime favorite in the betting. Tenny ran third 
in this race, which led to the special match between the two 
that came off a week later, Salvator again defeating his op- 
ponent. In August of that same year he ran his great 
mile for a purse against the record, im, 39^s.; this race was 
run at the Monmouth Park, and the time which the peer- 
less son of Prince Charley put up, im. 35/4s., has remained 
the record, unchallenged, ever since. The same year he won 
the Titan stakes, the Jersey Handicap, the September 
stakes and other important events. After his retirement 
from the turf he stood at Mr. J. B. Haggin's Rancho Del 
Paso Stud. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Origin of Stceplechasing, 

The origin of steeplechasing is absolutely a creature of 
Irish adventure. The Irish gentlemen, who were not only- 
fond of following the hounds, but reveled in every feature 
of the chase, some one hundred and twenty-five years ago, 
not altogether satisfied with taking the ditches, streamlets 
and hedges, concluded to introduce the taking of six-foot 
stiff timbers as a better test of man's art in the pigskin and 
likewise his moral courage and nerve. Although many a 
gallant fellow, in taking these jumps, was involuntarily dis- 
mounted and sometimes carried home with sore shoulders, 
or sprained legs or arms, nevertheless this was kept up for 
several years, to the delectation and amusement of all 
classes. 

In about the year 1735 they began cross-country racing, 
and thence about this time they also began to give small 
prizes under the auspices of hurdle racing, and this was 
soon indorsed by all of the Irish nobility and countenanced 
by every class of citizens. It was of but short duration 
before it resolved itself in the estimation of this sport-loving 
people as the greatest out-door recreation known to man; 
and as every turf student well knows that no people on the 
earth has a higher estimate of the thoroughbred horse and 
has done as much to encourage and foster every class 
of racing, yet with them steeplechase racing held high car- 
nival in the hearts of this people, even in the days when 
they had their greatest flat racers, such, for instance, as 
their Harkaways, Economist, old Fogaballa, etc., this style 
of racing held its popularity supreme over other sports, and 
does yet. 

About eighty years ago a great match race took place 
and was run in the public road, which was chained and 
measured ; the distance was five miles and terminated 
at a point known in Ireland as "The Red Church." The 
stakes were for $5,000 a side and was won by a horse called 
Peter Maning. Over this match excitement was carried 



39 

clean into England, and many thousand pounds were won 
and lost on this contest. The race was well contested all 
of the way over eight hurdles, until the last one, when one 
of the contestants fell, dislocated a shoulder, and was 
destroyed in consequence. This race gave rise, or inspired, 
so it is said, steeplechasing and hurdle racing in England, 
where ever since it has been conducted on the scale of mag- 
nificence, to the delight of all patrons and the nobility of 
Europe ; even King Edward often has a horse entered in 
the race to give character and to add to its zest. 

About fifty-three years ago Mr. R. A. Alexander con- 
ceived the idea and undertook to encourage hurdle racing 
in America, and he, being a grand man, who did everything 
in a" grand way, commenced it it in the right way. At first 
he employed Bill Jennings as both jockey and trainer, with 
Brown Dick, or Edward Brown, and Harvey Welch as his 
assistant riders or steeplechase and hurdle jockies, but, best 
of all, from the very start, he sent good cattle into the field, 
and the result was both a popular and grand success. This 
is the class of men that make a success in all enterprises ; 
they bring light out of chaos. 

Mr. Robert A. Alexander's career as a turfman was not 
long lived, but oh, what a brilliant and beneficent one it 
was, and what a valuable adjunct the breeding world and 
turf lost when the grim reaper of death called him to doff 
his hat. Just suppose he could have been spared to have 
lived so he could have vied in the best interest of the Amer- 
ican turf with such men as William C. Whitney, August 
Belmont, James R. Keene and other noted leaders of the 
American turf to-day. It only remains for a few of these 
latter gentlemen to identify themselves with hurdle racing 
to bring it up to that high pitch it so justly deserves as a 
novel and grand sport. With the great number of thor- 
oughbreds we are breeding in this country annually, we 
should find no difficulty in soon producing the winner of 
the Grand Metropolitan Handicap Steeplechase in England. 
Join hands and hearts and let's see if we can't go over and 
show John Bull the way to lay the rail and that we are the 
only people who can stay on it after it is laid. All that is 
needed to do so is to breed a few more Rosebens, learn 
them to take the jumps, then keep them under cover prop- 



4° 

erly and land in old England some congenial morning and 
shake hands with English gentry and get a mortgage on the 
British Islands. The thing can be done. This is from an 
optimistic standpoint and I must confess that I have yet to 
hear of a man that expects to hit the moon by shooting 
downward instead of upward. 



CHAPTER V, 
The Strain of Blood. 

There are hundreds of other races that have a claim to 
distinction, but lack of space forbids their mention. These, 
however, are given simply to show to what illustrious line- 
age the horses of to-day are able to point when they are 
actually bred in the purple. It is my intention to endeavor 
to illustrate as far as possible why a man makes a mistake in 
not buying a good horse, instead of one of mediocre ability, 
when he concludes to embark in racing as a business. 

I have tried to show where the best strains of blood lie 
and for what the horses mentioned were especially noted. 
In following me through this work the reader will readily 
comprehend why certain crosses in breeding are essential to 
produce speed and endurance. On the other hand, it may 
be urged that the celebrated Brown Kitty, Picayune, Min- 
erva Anderson, Black Sophia and others were not thorough- 
breds. Brown Kitty had no breeding, with the exception 
of one cross by Birmingham, being out of George Thomas' 
quarter mare Kit, who, although bred to Glencoe, Imported 
Trustee and other of the best stallions of Kentucky, was 
never able to produce a foal of any consequence. 

Picayune had three crosses on her dam's side, but they 
were good. She was bred by Ben Jenkins, She gave to 
the world Ha'penny, Miss Belle, Doubloon, Florin, Louis 
d'Or, Ducatoon, Lindora, Dime, Sherrod and others. 

Minerva Anderson was not of the quality. She brought 
forth Mariam, who was the dam of Magenta, who in turn 
was the dam of the Duke of Magenta. Mariam had no 
claim to distinction regarding her parentage. She, in my 
opinion, proved to be one of the best brood mares up to the 
present time. 

Black Sophia, by Topgallant, was the dam of Sarah 
Bladen, Bob Sarden and a host of other performers of note 
on the turf. 

Still, with all this evidence, I contend that it is better 
to own a horse actually in the purple than one of obscure 



42 

origin, for blood will tell. Breeding is a lottery. We see 
every year men giving thousands of dollars for the grandest 
horses of Europe and the Orient, and often when they bring 
them to this country they are never able to get anything 
worthy of notice. The hardy characteristics, good temper 
and fine feeding properties must be obtained. 

Why did Glencoe succeed so admirably ? The answer 
is the only one that can be given : He was crossed on our 
game, hardy Medoc, Wagner, Bertrand and Sumpter mares. 

The reason so much nervous temperament is discernible 
in the horse of this day, compared with the horse of former 
years, is because we are getting so far away from these 
level-headed mares. We must breed scientificall}^ and give 
the matter the deepest thought. And in this connection it 
will not be out of place to mention some of the famous 
regally bred matrons who have founded families that 
attained distinction. 

Let us begin with the case of Maria Black. She was 
by Filho-da-puta, and was a winner at all distances. She 
left a progeny that became famous. Her first colt was John 
Black, by Imported Trustee. He was a good, consistent 
performer. Her next foal was Sallie Waters, by Glencoe. 
She was a grand mare, and was matched against Lexington 
for $5,000 in three-mile heats, but, of course, she could not 
beat the blind hero. Then she foaled Hebron, by Lexing- 
ton, and he was sent to England ; Bay Flower, Bay Water,. 
Bay Final, Preakness and Bayonet, all by Lexington, and all 
of whom were well-known performers. But the principal 
claim to distinction of this^mare was through her daughter 
Oak Leaf, by Imported Yorkshire. Several of the foals of 
Oak Leaf were sent to England and were winners over there. 

Mary Morris, by Medoc, dam Miss Obstinate or The 
Mule, by Sumpter, was a great mare. She produced Wild 
Irishman and Frankfort, by Imported Glencoe. One of her 
daughters was Kitty Clark, by Glencoe, who produced 
Maiden, by Lexington, who in turn produced Parole, 
Pawnee, James A. and others. Another was La Henderson, 
who produced the Great Fereda and Aella. The former 
was the best filly in America of her years and has to her 
credit the fastest and best heat at four miles ever run by any 
mare in the world. It was done at the Sheepshead Bay 



43 

track when she beat Glenmore. The author was present 
and timed this race. Alone this race would have made her 
famous and also brought glory to Mary Morris. Then there 
was Parole, the fastest two- and three-year-old of his years in 
America. He won the Suburban Handicap in England, in 
which he met and defeated Isonomy, the best horse of the 
period. 

Now comes Maria Grey, by Robin Grey, who is the 
source of the Vandal family. Colonel Milt Young, the well- 
known Kentuckian and turf authority, believes after careful 
investigation that no other family of horses ever produced 
so many celebrities at all distances. Maria Grey was the 
dam of Rowena, by Sumpter, who was the grandam of 
Lexington and great-grandam of Vandal. Of this famous 
family were Black Nose, Alaric, Carlotta, Ruric, Stamps, 
Barney Williams, Katie Pierce, Grinstead, Volante, Salvator 
and hundreds of others. 

Another great mare was Brittania IV, by Muley, own 
sister to that great horse Muley Moloch, out of Nancy Long- 
waist, by Dick Andrews, by Joe Andrews, by O'Kelley's 
Eclipse. She produced Verifier, by Imported Belshazzer, 
Vandyke, La Variation, Voucher and others, nearly all of 
whom were great performers. It must be remembered that 
there were two Brittanias. This one was by Muley. The 
other was by The Flying Dutchman, who was the dam of 
Madame Dudley, Brigand and The Crown Prince. The 
latter was so promising as a two-year-old that he was taken 
to England, and was highly thought of for the English 
Derby. The Brittania by The Flying Dutchman was a 
great mare, but she was short lived and had but few foals. 
She was brought to this country by the Importing Company 
of Kentucky. I have been thus explicit in order to avoid 
confusion. 

Probably the best brood mare that ever lived was Pica- 
yune, out of Sallie Howe, by William of Transport, consid- 
ering the injudicious manner in which she was bred. Her 
first foal was Ponette, by The Poney, and the latter was by 
Leviathan. Her next foal was Ha'penny, by Birmingham, 
a well-bred stallion, who sired Brown Kitty and then got no 
more that proved of any consequence. Brown Kitty met 
and defeated Verifier at two miles. Ha'penny, the year 



44 

she was a three-year-old, at New Orleans, met and defeated 
Jerry Lancaster, Red Rover and Mary Waller, at four-mile 
heats, in three heats over the Metaire course. Picayune's 
next foal was the fleet little Miss Belle, by Frank. 

Her next foal was Doubloon, by Imported Margrave. 
This was one of the best race horses of any time and any 
country. Then came Florin, a full brother to Doubloon. 
Duncan Kenner and his trainer. Wash Graves, thought 
Florin was the best horse ever bred in America. The winter 
he was five years old they started him fourteen times. He 
won thirteen races. He started in the fourteenth and won 
the first heat from Charmer and Bettie Oliver. Then he 
dropped down and died on the track before the time to start 
for the second heat. He had ruptured a blood vessel. 

The next foal of Picayune was Louis d'Orr, by Imported 
Sarpedon. Caroline, by Yorkshire, followed. This filly 
was crippled on an ice pond as a yearling and was never 
trained. However, she proved a good brood mare. Then 
came to Picayune Moidore, by Imported Yorkshire, an ani- 
mal of some note. About this time Lindora, by Lexington, 
put in an appearance. She was a good race mare. The 
next foal was Sherrod, by Le Compte, one of the best race 
horses of the country. A full brother to Lindora was sold 
to Judge John Hunter, of Mobile, Ala,, and was trained as a 
two-year-old. But the Civil War broke out and the colt was 
stolen and was never heard of again. He is supposed to 
have been ridden away by a bushwhacker from one of the 
armies. 

Picayune went to the stud twenty-three times and 
brought forth twenty-two live colts. She died in foal to 
Uncle Vic. 

The great Reel, by Imported Glencoe, out of Imported 
Galopade, by Catton, was bred by Jeff Wells, of Louisiana, 
and was one of the best race mares of her day. She was 
equally as distinguished as a brood mare, having produced 
Le Compte, by Boston (the only horse that ever beat Lex- 
ington), Stark, Prioress, Ann Dunn, Uncle Jeff, Calvert and 
Capt. Elgie, all of whom were winners, some of them in 
England. 

Magnolia, by Glencoe, dam Imported Myrtle, by Eng- 
lish Marma Luke, enjoyed distinction. She produced the 



45 

three great brothers, Kentucky, Daniel Boones, and Gilroy, 
Skeedaddle, Princeton, Magic, Madonna, Sly Boots and 
others. 

Then it will not do to overlook Sarah Washington, by 
Garrison's Zinganee, who produced Nat Pope, by Pamonky ; 
Inspector, by Boston ; Sue Washington, by Revenue ; Fannie 
Washington, by Revenue, and Ninnette, by Imported 
Eclipse. The breeders of Virginia considered Sarah Wash- 
ington the best brood mare of her day. 

In closing I will mention Blinky, by Muckle John, who 
produced Josh, Bob Snell, The Dutchman, Shavetail, Viley 
and Little Flea, all by Grey Eagle, the son of Woodpecker 
and grand-uncle of the great Hanover. 

In spite of the claim made by the English that their 
horses are the best bred in the world, I contend that the 
grandest horses the world has ever known first saw the 
light in America and that their blood is that of Sir Archie 
and his descendants, commingled with that of Glencoe. 

Sir Archie was by Diomed, out of Castiamra, by Rock- 
ingham. The best of his get was Timoleon, who got 
Boston, and the latter got Lexington. Sir Archie also got 
Sumpter, who left a race of daughters that perpetuated his 
fame ; Bertrand, who was a grand race horse and left a 
famous race of broodmares ; Sir Charles, the sire of Wag- 
ner and Bonnets of Blue ; Sir William of Transport, whose 
daughters are well known to fame, and a multitude of 
others, nearly all of whom achieved greatness on the turf. 

The Sumpter mares have produced the best horses in 
the world by all classes of stallions, among which might be 
mentioned Rowena, grandam of Lexington ; Cherry Elliott, 
dam of Tangent; Yarrico, dam of Nannie Rhodes; Ann 
Mary, dam of Cub and grandam of Wild Irishman, Frank- 
fort, Fanny Fern and Fannie Campbell. The Bertrand 
mares got such notables as Blue Bonnet, Lightning, Lode- 
stone, Thunder, Little Arthur, who trace back on their 
maternal side to Gray Fannie ; Queen Mary, dam of Red 
Eye the First ; Quiz, dam of Nantura, grandam of Long- 
fellow and great-grandam of Ten Broeck ; Isola, dam 
of Olio, and Miss Chester. 

The Medoc mares trace back to this source of blood, 
but they are now extinct. They produced many good per- 



46 

formers, however. In every strain they perpetuated their 
fame. 

The Lexington mares, who are also now extinct, but 
whose daughters survive and are adding every year to the 
fame of the grand old sire, were gold mines to their owners. 
They produced such superb performers as Idlewild, Fellow- 
craft, Rutherford, Spendthrift, Miser, Artistides (out of 
Sarong), Enquirer (out of Eliza), Hamburg, Hira (dam of 
Himyar, who was the size of Domino), The Banshee (dam 
of Krupp Gun), Maiden (dam of Parole, Pawnee, James A), 
La Henderson (dam of Fireda and Aella). Leamington's 
reputation was based on Lexington mares, except in two 
instances — Longfellow and Radamanthus. 

The Glencoe mares were in a class by themselves. 
Reel produced La Compte (the only horse that ever beat 
Lexington), Prioress, Ann Dunn, Fannie King, grandam of 
Brown Dick ; Charmer, great grandam of Marion, who 
produced Rey del Rey, El Rio Rey, Empress of Norfolk, 
The Czar and Yo Tambien, who with Modesty was an 
American Derby winner ; Fannie Fern (dam of Oli Tippax) ; 
Volga (dam of Barney Williams) ; Ann Watson (dam of 
Rhinodine and Floride) ; Peytona, who defeated Fashion 
(dam of Transylvania); Maroon (Baltimore's dam and also 
that of Richmond); Topaz (dam of Waterloo, Austerlitz and 
Lodi). 

Glencoe's sons also rose to eminence. Vandal was 
probably the greatest. He sired Virgil, who in turn sired 
the celebrated Hindoo, and the latter gave to the racing 
world Hanover. Panic, Rigadoon, Union, Rory O' Moore, 
Little Arthur and Highlander all attained greatness as per- 
formers and producers. 

The War Dance mares were a cross between the Lex- 
ington and the Glencoe strains, and no mares probably pro- 
duced great performers with such consistency. 

The claims I have made can not be controverted. This 
is the fleetest, stoutest and best strain of horses ever pro- 
duced. 



CHAPTER VI. 
How I Became a Turfman. 

Perhaps the story of how I came to be a turfman and to 
spend the best days of my life as a rider, trainer and owner 
may not be uninteresting at this juncture, for it will illuS' 
trate clearly to young men who contemplate embarking in 
the business the trials through which they must pass. 

I was born in the city of Lexington, at the corner of 
Short and Cheapside, June 5, 1827. One evening when I 
was about ten years of age I formed the acquaintance of 
Stephen Welsh. We were playing hide and seek in the old 
market house and were having a royal time. Welsh and I 
were soon fast friends, and he gained such an ascendency 
over me that on the following morning he persuaded me to 
run away and become a jockey. I wrapped up a few of my 
belongings in a piece of paper, met Welsh, and we tramped 
down the old Frankfort road to Robert Burbage's stock farm 
and training stables near the Forks of Elkhorn. 

I told Mr. Burbage that my parents had sent me out to 
secure work and make a living. At first he was disinclined 
to credit my story, but I clung to my statement and could 
not be shaken in the recital. Mr. Burbage saw I was of 
small stature and that there was some promise in me as a 
jockey, concluded to give me a chance to show what was in 
me, and that in the meantime he would investigate the truth- 
fulness of my story. 

To test my courage, the next day he put me to walking 
a horse called Whipster around the ring with the other 
boys. The animal began jumping and plunging, but I was 
not abashed and laughed and held to him. A negro groom 
called Harry Lewis, who afterward became distinguished as 
the trainer of Lexington, told Mrs. Burbage at dinner 
that day that he felt sure the stable had obtained a jewel. 
He said I was a natural born rider, and even then he was 
convinced I was the best boy in the stable. Welsh, who 
induced me to run away from home, rode Gray Eagle in his 
races with Wagner and became a famous jockey. 



48 

I was put right on from walking to galloping horses, 
and the first animal I ever bestrode was the vicious Whip- 
ster. My mother, in the meantime, had ascertained my 
whereabouts and had written Mr. Burbage. She said if 1 
was satisfied and was willing to adopt riding as a profession 
I might remain until the racing in the fall, at which time she 
would see him and confer further concerning my future 
career. 

The next spring I left Mr. Burbage and went to White 
Sulphur Springs, Scott county, where I secured employment 
at exercising with James Fenwick, a noted breeder of that 
day. He bred Quiz, the grandam of Longfellow, and her 
sister. Queen Mary, besides a host of other celebrities. I re- 
mained there three years, and frequently galloped Quiz. In 
this connection I wish to call the attention of the reader to 
my previous statement that breeding is a lottery. Quiz was 
of no earthly account as a performer, while her sister was 
considered good enough to run against Gray Eagle, Wagner 
or any others of her day. But she produced Nantura, who 
was the dam of Longfellow. Queen Mary gave to the world 
the first Red Eye, by imp. Sarpedan. 

In those days the stable boys slept at the house and were 
treated as members of the family. I had few privations and 
got along well with the trainers and grooms. Everybody 
seemed to take an interest in me, probably on account of my 
small size and my precocity, for even then I was a close ob- 
server. 

I left Mr. Fenwick in 1842 and became attached to the 
stable of the famous Jim Shy. He lived on the race track 
at Lexington and had Theatrus, The Splotch Mare and a 
half dozen others in training there, including Rothschild, 
with whom he won the two most important stakes at the 
meeting that year. There I remained for a number of years 
and got my first mount as a jockey. 

Mr. Shy had promised me for weeks before that he 
would give me a chance, and I looked forward to the time 
I should sit in the saddle and ride a sure enough race with a 
great deal of eagerness. Finally, the eventful day arrived. 
I cared little for the class of the horse I was to be on. All I 
wanted then was to ride. They put me on a mare named 
Pinderella, by Monmouth Eclipse. She was of ordinary call- 



49 

ber, and I did my best, but could do no better than finish 
third in the race. The next time out I also lost. 

But the third time I showed them who laid the rail. I 
was on a horse belonging- to a man named Sherley, who had 
a stock farm near Louisville. The colt was by imp. Margrave 
and was called Martinet. It was over the old Oakland 
course, and there were eight or nine starters. We got oflf 
well together at the tap of the drum. I was instructed .j 
trail till I came to the head of the stretch. I kept within 
distance of the leading horse for three-quarters of a mile. 
Then I pulled a little wide and came on home winner of the 
heat with comparative ease. 

Paddy Burns, of Frankfort, a famous Bluegrass plunger, 
who had backed my mount for the heat, approached me and 
handed me three sovereigns. It was my first fee and I was 
anxious to distinguish myself by winning the race. I was 
instructed to lay up the next heat unless I got off well, and 
as I did not do so I lost the heat. The third heat my horse 
had cooled off and rested well. At the tap of the drum I 
went to the front, and with a good swinging pull all the way 
I maintained the lead. 

Burns was again backing me, and the next day he took 
me down town and bought me two good suits of clothes and 
gave me a twenty-dollar bill. It was the first large amount 
of money I had ever possessed and I had no pocketbook. 
I was terribly afraid I would lose the money, and I tied 
it up in one corner of the tail of my shirt. It reached home 
with me safely and I turned it over to Mrs. Shy with in- 
structions to keep it for me. This happened in about 1845. 

Shy was very unlucky with his horses and race after race 
he entered and lost by the worst kind of luck. It was the 
talk of all the tracks, and there was not a man but felt 
sorry for him. Being a man of but limited means, it was 
predicted that his turf career would soon have to close as 
far as ownership was concerned. But the tide turned. Dal- 
las, by Robinson, out of Theatrus, was entered in a race about 
1846 at Lexington for the three best in five heats. I had 
the mount and won the race in four heats, losing the third. 

Then originated the famous saying that is now a familiar 
one all over the South — " Shy won a heat.'' You may hear 
it in Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, Virginia, Louisiana, and 



5° 

even in the far East. I won the heat for Shy and brought 
him the first pleasant smile he had had for many a day from 
the fickle goddess. 

1 severed my connection with Shy the following year, 
and when Richard Ten Broeck was organizing a stable to 
make a tour through Canada I went with him as his chief 
jockey. We landed at Toronto, and in due course of time 
the trainer had the horses in shape for active work. 

We swept everything before us and won all the races in 
which our horses were entered. Finally we came to Quebec 
at the Queen's course on the Plains of Abraham. There we 
arranged a killing, and we certainly made it. I was on Sallie 
Ward (a mare by John R. Grimes) in a three-mile heat race. 
The only contender was Grace Darling, although there were 
several others in it. 

I landed the first heat with Sallie Ward, and Grace Dar 
ling captured the second ; but I knew all the time that the 
game little Kentucky mare was the better of the two. Mr. 
Ten Broeck was anxious to win as much as possible on the 
race, but, as Grace Darling was a noted mare and had lost 
but few if any races that year, he was doubtful. In conse- 
quence, he arranged with me that he was not to make a bet 
until I showed him conclusively that we had the race well in 
hand. 

Lord Parish owned Grace Darling, and up to that time 
she had never lost a race where the heats were broken. 
After I had won the first heat Mr. Ten Broeck asked me 
what I thought of the prospect for winning. I told him it 
was good. 

" Well," he said, " if you see you can win lay up the 
next heat, but raise your cap after two and one-half miles 
have been run to let me know you are sure of your game." 

In the meantime he was sitting by the side of Lord Par- 
ish in the grand stand, watching the race. As in the first 
heat, I laid close behind Grace Darling all the way. At the 
two miles I shook up my horse a little, and she responded so 
liberally that I knew she had lots of speed in reserve, and 
would be there when it was necessary to deliver the goods. 
On we went around the turn, and at the point agreed upon I 
again called on her. As before, she was full of run, and I 
raised my hand to my cap as if it were falling off. 



51 

Mr. Ten Broeck had so much confidence in my judg- 
ment that he wagered $25,000 with Lord Parish that Sallie 
Ward would win the next heat. Now, as I have said, Grace 
Darling had never lost a race where the heats were broken- 
for the reason that she had wonderiul powers of endurance. 
The Britisher was so confident that his mare would win that 
he readily put up the money, and he went further and agreed 
to bet his famous mare Gips}'', a full sister to Medoc, on the 
result. Mr. Ten Broeck was only too delighted at this prop- 
osition, for he had long been trying to buy Gipsy, believing 
her to be a comer. 

For the last and deciding heat we got off evenly, and I 
let Grace Darling get in the lead. I was never far away, 
though, and always had her at my mercy. On we went with 
the speed of the wind. Grace Darling was pressed to her 
utmost, and was doing her level best at every stride. On the 
other hand, I was holding my horse in reserve. Lord Parish 
thought he had won and his face was wreathed in smiles, for 
he saw himself the winner of about $50,000. He informed 
Mr. Ten Broeck that it was all over but the shouting, and he 
and his friends joked about the matter. But I was on Sallie 
Ward, and I had not called on her for the supreme burst of 
speed that I knew she had concealed in her graceful little 
legs. 

We were on the last quarter. Grace Darling was lead- 
ing still, but every nerve was in play and she was at her best. 
I smiled and shook the rein a trifle. Sallie Ward moved up 
quickly. I was at her flanks ; then at her saddle girths ; then 
we were on even terms ; then Sallie Ward's pretty head was 
shoved in front of that of the British horse. A low cluck 
urged her on, and fast and faster flew her nimble feet. I 
was a length ahead, and when we passed under the wire 
there was daylight between us. I had won the greatest race 
ever seen on a Canadian track. 

An Irishman, who had been following us through the 
country and winning on our starters, bet we would win the 
first heat. Before the second he came to me in the paddock 
and asked me what I would do in the second. I told him I 
hardly thought we would win. With this tip he bet his 
money on the British horse. Of course, he won. Then, in- 
stead of coming to me and getting another tip for the third, 



52 

he was satisfied that Grace Darling would win and put up 
everything he had on Grace Darling. He sent $2,000 with 
someone and wagered it with Mr. Ten Broeck. 

As I dismounted, after winning the third and concluding 
heat, he approached me and in the presence of a large crowd 
said : 

" You blue-bellied Yankees would rob St. Peter of the 
throne if Jesus Christ didn't lock it up every night and hide 
the key." 

" You lost," said I, " because you didn't come back for 
the third tip. I told you the truth twice and you ought to 
have trusted me the third time." 

When we returned to Kentucky I left Mr. Ten Broeck 
and went back to Shy. In the stable of the latter at that 
time was the afterward famous race horse Doubloon, by imp. 
Margrave, out of Picayune He was then a two-year old, 
but he showed evidences of wonderful speed. It was decided 
to simply jog him along and not put him to the test until he 
became a three-year old, when his muscles would be hard- 
ened and his lithe body developed. I exercised him all that 
season, and when the meeting opened at Lexington the fol- 
lowing spring I was selected to ride him. The first race we 
won was the Phoenix Hotel Stakes at mile heats, and he 
landed both of them easily. The Citizens Stakes was the 
next race in which he was entered. There he again showed 
his superiority, and I brought him first under the wire. By 
this time we realized there was a very great horse in our 
stable. 

Returning to Louisville, we won the Gait House Stakes 
without any trouble. Mr. James A. Grinstead, his owner, 
sold him to William Greer, of Dover, Mason County, Ky., 
for $1,500. At this time such a horse would have readily 
brought $100,000. For his new owner Doubloon won many 
thousands of dollars, but he in turn became doubtful of his 
lasting qualities and sold him to a Polander named Skiman- 
sky. The latter showed his wisdom in making the purchase 
by taking him to New Orleans, where his winnings flowed 
in a golden stream into the coffers of the foreigner. Doub- 
loon was never placed in the stud, and died in Missouri 
about 1865. 

By this time I had become a trainer and formed a part- 



53 

nership with Edward Eagle. We opened a public stable and 
trained many high-class horses, including Goodwood, Ice- 
burg, Vesuvius and Ella D., the grandam of Hanover. I 
consider her to have been every whit as good as her grand- 
son, and she was certainly a mighty queen of the turf. 

Goodwood was by Lexington out of Evergreen, by imp. 
Glencoe, and was owned by Col. John R. Viley, of Lexing- 
ton. Ben Pryor, a trainer, of Natchez, Miss., had the horse 
as a two and three-year-old, and he sent him back to Col. 
Vile}', saying there was nothing in him, and that he could 
never win enough to pay his feed bill. When I separated 
from Eagle and went into business for myself Col. Viley 
came to me and suggested that I take the horse on shares. 
1 thought over the proposition and concluded to take the 
chance. At that time, perhaps, 1 was about the only man in 
Kentucky who thought there was anything in this handsome 
son of Lexington. 

I gave him a careful training till the springtime came, 
and then I took him to Louisville. First I put him in a race 
with a number of others just as a trial. There was some 
interference with Goodwood during the race and he lost to 
Sherrod. I was somewhat disappointed at his failure to win, 
for I had had great confidence in his ability. I was not 
discouraged, however, and, returning to Lexington, I trained 
him again for the meeting there. This time his success was 
beyond my fondest expectations. He met Black Rebel, 
Lila, Starlight, Joe Stoner and other noted horses at two- 
mile heats, winning handily. Three days later he was in a 
race with the mighty Colossus and several others. He won 
two straights without an effort, and was never extended. 
By this time his fame was established, and the Pryor castoff 
was sold to Judge Hunter forSio,ooo that night. Mr. Ten 
Broeck was arranging to go to England for a campaign, and 
he offered Judge Hunter $io,ooo, the price he had paid for 
the horse, for his running qualities. 

" Why," said Judge Hunter, proudly, " $io,ooo wouldn't 
buy a hair in that horse's tail." 

Mr. Ten Broeck was so impressed with the perform- 
ances of Goodwood that he afterward bought his full sister, 
Myrtle, and took her to England. There she was entered 
in the rich Czarowitch Stakes, and in a field of thirty-nine of 
the best-blooded animals of old England she finished second. 



CHAPTER VIL 
Won Every Stake. 

I moved to Missouri in 1862, bringing with me Creigh- 
ton, the last colt of imp. Glencoe, a full brother to Blonde 
and Maroon, and Ada Kennett. James K. Duke, an exten- 
sive breeder, of Kentucky, had died a short time previously, 
and I had been engaged to take charge of his horses. This 
I did, and I considered that I could obtain better prices for 
them if I raced and sold them in Missouri. 

I won every stake in Missouri that year with Ada Ken- 
nett, and Creighton more than paid for his keep. 

Having nothing to keep me longer in Missouri after the 
horses were sold at the end of the season, I returned to 
Lexington. At a public sale there I purchased ten or twelve 
horses for Benjamin Hutchinson, a breeder, of Missouri. 
Among them were Lilac, who afterward produced Gray 
Cloud and many other celebrities, and Evangeline, a highly- 
bred mare. 

Annie Travis was also in the string. She turned out 
Tidal Wave, Athlene and a host of others noted for their 
speed. Derby, by Eclipse out of Lady Taylor, was bought 
from Rufus Lyle, who acted as agent for Major B. G. 
Thomas, and sold him against the wishes of the latter. He 
defeated Maiden, the dam of the celebrated Parole, and won 
nearly all the other stakes at St. Louis. 

At this time racing and breeding were at a very low ebb 
in Missouri, and I contend that I am practically the father of 
racing in the State. 1 did everything in my power to get 
people interested in the matter by inducing them to pur- 
chase brood mares and stallions. It was slow work for a 
time, but the grand results that are to be observed to-day 
are a monument to my efforts. The old Prairie track had 
been abandoned and the old Abbey was on its last legs. I 
realized that something had to be done, and I went to work 
with a will to have a new track established. By dint of per- 
suasion enough gentlemen were interested to establish the 



55 

Laclede track, named in honor of the first white man that 
explored the upper Missouri river. 

Here there was brilliant racing for a number of years. 
Muggins, Derby, The Banshee, Pat Maloy, Ruth, Planta- 
ganet, Patrician and hundreds of other horses of the highest 
class planted their dainty hoofs on the soil of this course and 
won many a hard-fought battle. About this time racing 
was perfectly honest in every particular in Missouri, and 
there had never been a breath of suspicion against the class 
of the sport. But soon after the first taint was manifested, 
and gradually the blot has grown upon the escutcheon until 
everything on a race track in the State is regarded as at 
least worthy of close investigation. 

One of the most peculiar races that occurred during this 
period was between The Banshee, Pat Maloy and a few 
others. The Banshee was in my stable and was owned by 
James J. O'Fallon and myself. It was a two-mile heat race, 
and The Banshee stepped out and won the first heat handily 
from Pat Maloy, who was in reality the only contender and 
the one I feared most. I told my jockey to drop in behind 
Pat Maloy and jump into the tracks as Maloy dropped out. 
Now, Pat Maloy was a bald-faced horse, and, as ill luck 
would have it, there was another bald-faced horse bearing a 
striking resemblance to him in the race. My boy was never 
a careful observer and he selected as the horse he was to 
beat the inferior animal. They flew around the track with 
the real Pat Maloy in the lead by many lengths, but my 
jockey thought it was the scrub horse and that he could 
easily overtake him when the test of speed arrived down the 
stretch. He hung right to the bogus animal, and suddenly 
realizing the state of affairs, I sent a man to the three-eighth 
pole to warn the boy. He did so, but by that time it was too 
late. The boy made a gallant effort, and was only beaten by 
a head on the post. 

The mare was high in flesh, as it was her first effort of 
the season, and she could not stand the terrible strain. In 
consequence, the well-seasoned Pat Maloy came in a winner 
at the end of the next and deciding heat. I had lost through 
a mistake. 

Plantaganet belonged to Mr. O'Fallon, but was in my 
stable. He started in a race with the great Ruth and others. 



56 

It was a three-mile-heat affair. Mr. O'Fallon's horse was con- 
sidered an animal of no speed when I got him, but I had him 
in such fine shape that he won in two straight heats. A re- 
markable feature of this race was the fact that Plantaganet 
ran the last half mile of the second heat in 0:48^. 

We won all the big stakes of the meeting with our 
horses, and then went to Chicago, where I won two big 
stakes with Plantaganet, defeating Blaze water and others. 
Two other stakes fell to our lot through the medium of 
Altavela. She was a two-year-old at that time and was a 
wonderful filly. Malacca and Mollie Jones were easily de- 
feated bv her, and she could have carried any kind of 
weight and won. In the first of these races she was so far 
ahead that she stopped and turned around and whinnied like 
a colt for its mother. A stableman who was standing at a 
gate noticed the predicament of the lad on the filly's back, 
and he ran out and shooed her along. At that she ran on and 
won by forty or fifty yards. 

That same week we put The Corsican in a race and beat 
Moonlight, a grand filly of the year, who afterward became 
noted for her marvelous performances. The Corsican was 
my individual property, but I sold him to a man named 
Holland, and the latter raced him in the South, winning 
many stakes and purses. Major Thomas G. Bacon was his 
trainer there and had a farm at Edgefield, S. C. 

At Saratoga The Banshee won the rich Travis Stake 
and the Filly Stake. Altavela won all the two-year-old races 
there, beating Oakleaf, who had won all the stakes of this 
class in the East up to the time our horses arrived at the 
course. I would have won a three-mile dash with Pat 
Maloy, who had been purchased by Mr. O'Fallon, but for 
the stupidity of my rider. He was seventy-five yards ahead 
of James A. Connelly, the only other contender, when he 
suddenly pulled up, for no reason whatever, and the latter 
won. My boy deliberately stopped the horse and took him 
out to the side of the track. Then the crowd began to yell 
and shout, and my boy concluded to take another chance. 
He started in and gave Maloy his head. Even then, with 
all this delay, he was only beaten half a neck. The boy's 
mind had become affected through the severe reducing to 
make the weight, and this accounts for his strange action. 



57 

At that time I probably had the best racing stable in the 
world. While in point of numbers it did not exceed some 
others, the caliber of the horses was better. The fame of 
the string was widespread and the Missourians were anxious 
to meet me on my return. Several owners went to Ken- 
tucky and bought the best horses that were obtainable there. 
We met again in the fall, but the result was the same. Once 
more they fell victims to the superior speed and handling of 
the Davis-O'Fallon string. 

Gen. Woodford was a noted horse in Kentucky, and 
Charles L. Hunt and James Loop paid $7,000 for him, be- 
lieving he could take the measure of the mighty Plantaganet. 
He was the chief contender against our horse in the two big 
stakes, but we had no trouble in disposing of him in easy 
style. The Banshee swept the three-year-old platter and 
Altavela attended to all the business in the two-year-old line 
with scarcely an effort. By this time it was considered that 
our string was almost invincible. There was no one who 
could beat us and we seldom lost anything after which we 
went. 

At New Orleans the same fall The Banshee represented 
us in the three-year-old stakes over the old Metaire Course, 
which, by the way, is now a cemetery, having been donated 
for that purpose by Colonel Howard, a lottery king, who 
had been blackballed when he applied for membership to the 
jockey club. To avenge himself for the slight placed upon 
him he purchased the course and gave it to the city for a 
cemetery. Milk-white tombstones now have taken the place 
of the feet of flying horses, and the touts who are seen there 
are poor fellows who have come to visit the graves of de- 
parted relatives. 

There The Banshee brought sorrow to the stable. She 
was defeated by Locust Post in a dash of a mile, but at that 
she only lost by a head. Two days later she redeemed her- 
self by beating the same horse, Gen. Ewell and Bayonet in a 
two-mile-heat race. Both heats fell to her, and at no time 
during the race did any horse reach her side. The rider was 
determined to win. 

On the fourth day of the same week Plantaganet de- 
feated Bayonet, Gilroyand others in a three-mile-heat event, 
winning two heats and stamping him as a wonderful per- 



former. I laid up the first heat and let Bayonet and Gilroy 
fight it out to a dead heat. Then when the second came I 
had a fresh horse. My jockey was told to go in and win, as 
the others were tired and at his mercy. He followed in- 
structions and had not the slightest trouble in winning. 

In the spring, at the same place, we met with similar 
success, winning all the big stakes. 

Later, at Jerome Park, the same season, I won the 
American Jockey Club Handicap with Plantaganet, worth 
$8,500, giving Abdul Kadir, one of the best four-year-olds of 
the season, twenty pounds. Hardy Durham, who had the 
mount on Plantaganet, waved his hat at a girl in the grand 
stand, and Abdul Kadir crept up and made a dead heat on 
account of the carelessness of Durham. But he afterward 
paid more attention to what he was doing and won the race. 
This was certamly a grand performance for the horse, con- 
sidering that he carried the twenty-pound impost and was 
running over one of the worst tracks the country ever had. 

But it was due to a little piece of diplomacy on my part 
that I won, for Plantaganet would never have been able to 
have won without the rest necessary. Therefore, I per- 
suaded the judges to run another race between the heats. 
This was done and Plantaganet came out for the heat in 
splendid condition. 

The next day The Banshee won the Jerome Park Cup 
race, worth about $7,000, from a big field of the best horses 
of the day. In the race were Pleasureville, Judge Curtis 
(formerly Gen. Duke) and Voxhall, and they were certainly 
of the highest class. 

Saratoga also yielded up her golden treasures to the 
celebrated Davis-O'Fallon string, but by that time our 
horses were worn out from the strain that had been put 
upon them. They had raced from the South to the North 
and back again, and we were compelled to retire many of 
them to the stud. 

Two years later the get of the famous Pat Maloy came 
to the front. They were Ozark, Gen. Harney, Lilly Belle 
and Athlene, with a few others. I took them to Long 
Branch, and there with Ozark I defeated Aristides, the win- 
ner of the first Kentucky Derby ; Calvin, Tom Ochiltree, 
and all the distinguished three-year-olds of the year. So 



59 

carefully had I hidden the condition of my horse from the 
outside world that he always went to the post a rank out- 
sider. When Ozark met Aristides the first time any book- 
maker would have permitted you to write your own ticket, 
for he seemed to have so little chance. 

Ozark annexed the Kenner Stakes at Saratoga that year. 
He ran in another stake against the famous d'Artignan and 
clearly defeated the latter, but the judges prevailed upon me 
to agree that it was a dead heat and divided the money with 
McDonald, the owner of d'Artignan. They urged that he 
was a poor man and that the loss of that stake would drive 
him from the turf. That is the sole reason I consented. My 
horse won the race, though, and I could have had it had I 
insisted. However, I wished to give McDonald a chance. 
Just now I would like to ask the question : " How many of 
the men of to-day would have done as I did?" 

Ozark lost a race at Baltimore, but when he went up to 
Washington he redeemed himself, winning a novelty race of 
four miles. The conditions were that the horse leading at 
the half won $400 and the mile $800. These conditions pre- 
vailed for each mile. My horse took the lead at the jump 
and was never headed. The famous Nettie Norton, who had 
just run four miles at Baltimore in 7:23, was the nearest to 
him, and she was a quarter of a mile off at the finish. The 
track was in frightful shape, but had the race been run over 
a good course I am satisfied it would have been done in 7:10. 
Ozark that day could have beaten every horse ever bred in 
the world. Madge, Joe Cerns, First Chance, Jack Harkaway 
and all the others had records, but they were never able to 
get within hailing distance of the brown son of Pat Maloy 
and imp. Sunny South. 

After this meeting I sold Ozark to an Omaha man for 
$4,500. Such a horse to-day would bring $25,000. His new 
owner took him to Charleston, S. C, where he was beaten 
once. At Savannah he met the same horse under similar 
conditions and won handily. He broke down at Nashville 
and never ran a race afterward. 

I sold Gen. Harney to William Lakeland at New Or- 
leans for $2,500, and this virtually broke up my string, as I 
had but Athlene and Lilly Belle left. 



6o 

At the beginning of the following season I organized a 
stable of my own and made a campaign through Montana. I 
had John Baker and Premium, and both of them were of the 
higliest class. John Baker could run a mile in 1:40 or better, 
and was a grand plater, while Premium had phenomenal 
speed. Realizing that the people of the far West would not 
take kindly to me if tliey came to understand that ni)' sole 
object in going there was for the purpose of making money 
and carrying it away from the State, I thought I would be 
more successful if I made them believe 1 intended to locate 
there. I inspected several ranches and pretended that I was 
anxious to buy. There was hardly a man in the State that 
did not make me some kind of an offer, for the}' all seemed 
anxious to get away themselves. 

They began to smell a mouse when, after the races began, 
I annexed nearly every purse and stake with the good horses 
1 had brought out there for the purpose. I did not lose a race 
in which I had a starter. But they tinaliy caught on and began 
to make life miserable for me. One of the worst frauds they 
attempted to practice upon me was by the withdrawal of a 
horse in one of the stake events, thus lessening the amount 
at least $1,000. Of course, my Kentucky blood would not 
permit me to stand for this, and I entered a vigorous pro- 
test, asking to be permitted to read the rules, which, by the 
way, I had helped draft. This was refused, and I mounted 
a picket fence near the stand. The vast crowd that tilled the 
grand stand gathered about me, all eager to hear what I had 
to say. It was composed of the beauty and chivalry of the 
great Copper State. 

" Ladies and gentlemen," I said, " these rules cover the 
case entirely. If I am at fault I am willing to retire as grace- 
fully as possible under the circumstances, but if I am right I 
ask )'ou to uphold me.'' 

The air rang again and again with the plaudits of the 
crowd. 

''Let a committee of two," I cried again, "go to the 
stable, bring out this alleged sick horse, and see if he is not in 
line shape." 

" Give him a show," veiled the people. 

" I come of a race of people," said I, as soon as silence 
was once more restored. *' that always respects the rights of 



6i 

Others and will not permit themselves to be trampled upon. 
I must have what justly belonj^s to me here." 

The West loves a man who insists upon fairness and is 
not afraid to demand it on all occasions and under all cir- 
cumstances. In consequence there was such a tumult that 
had not that horse been brought out and made to run in that 
race there might have been a lynching. 

The flag fell to a good start, but I had the best horse, and 
the result was never in doubt. None of them ever came 
near him and John Baker, whose name I had changed to 
Howell. He was not a ringer, for I plainly told every one 
of the change. I got the stake, in spite of hints thrown 
about that a vigilance committee was liable to wait upon me 
that night. 

The next day Premium repeated the dose and got the 
money. I had good bets down on her at fair odds, for 
they could not believe that I had all the best horses in the 
State. Miss Ella had shown wonderful speed in a race at 
Lexington before she was taken out there, and she seemed 
to have a chance. But I knew my mare and I never faltered 
in the belief that she had the race at her mercy. There was 
no trouble in collecting the money. 

At the ending of this meeting I sold my horses to A. 
Samples, who was feeding Gen. Miles' soldiers over in the 
Yellowstone Valley, and traveled overland back to Ogden, 
a distance of about a thousand miles, having $12,000 win- 
nings on my person, representing less than three months' 
earnings. 

Back in old Missouri once more, I had about made up 
my mind to retire from the turf for good. But the love for 
horse racing was not so easily extinguished, and when 
Clifton Bell asked me to train a string of good ones for him 
I consented. He told me just to set my own price on my 
services. 

The horses were at that time at Denver, and while I 
was waiting for them to arrive I was induced to take charge 
of John Davis, a horse named after me, and owned by Capt. 
John Shaw and Charles Hunt. The horse was of high 
class and had quite a little history, for his ownership was 
once decided by a game of seven up. One half of him was 
owned by Capt. Shaw and the other by Sam Ecker. Shaw 
bred and reared the animal, but he gave Ecker a half interest 



62 

for training him. Then they agreed to play a game of 
seven up to see who would own all. William Mulkey, a 
breeder and turfman, of Kansas City at the present time, was 
selected to play for Ecker, who did not understand the game 
perfectly, while Capt. Shaw manipulated the cards for him- 
self. It was for seven points and they were six and six. 
Mulke}'^ was dealing and turned a jack, which gave the 
horse to Ecker. 

I had told Capt. Shaw the horse was a great plater, and 
I persuaded him in company with Charley Hunt to buy the 
animal back. There was one drawback. He was a bolter, 
and nothing could be done with him, for he would not run 
straight at any time, So, while I was waiting for the horses 
to come here from Denver, I so tamed and trained him that 
he became one of the most useful horses on the turf, winning 
his owers many thousands of dollars. The great Checkmate 
barely beat him for the cup that season. 

In due time Mr. Bell's horses arrived and I took charge 
of them. He had in his string Dave Yandell, Cliff Bell, 
John McGinty and three others, all in bad shape. I put 
them in condition and went to Chicago with them, where I 
persuaded Mr. Bell to buy Harry Gilmore, by Buckden, out 
of Lady Grigsby, a full brother to Buchanan, who won the 
Kentucky Derby and at the same time twice as good a 
horse. 

The horse was looking badly at the time, but I pro- 
ceeded to fix him up. At Saratoga he began to improve 
rapidly, and I saw he was a great race horse. Up to this 
time he had never been able to win at anything greater than 
a mile and was looked upon by every one as a sprinter. 

I soon realized that he had something more in him than 
had yet appeared. Just at daylight every morning I took 
him out and gave him a gallop, which put strength and 
endurance into his system. He was entered in the great 
Omnibus Stakes at Long Branch, although no one thought 
he had the remotest chance of winning; but 1 differed from 
them and began preparing him for the event. Every day 
at daybreak I had him out and gave him his work. He 
showed that he had all sorts of speed as well as endur- 
ance, and I knew that I had almost made a new horse of him. 

Just before leaving for Long Branch one morning I sent 
him a mile and a half in 2:34^ with 112 pounds up. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
Harry Gilmore's Victory. 

Up at Long Branch active preparations were going- on 
for the great race. The favorite w^as Wyoming, by Pat 
Maloy, a horse owned by George Lorillard, but Tom Plun- 
ket and a horse owned by D. D. Withers were all thought 
more favorably of than my horse. In fact, it was generally 
conceded that Wyoming was the best three-year-old of the 
season and the best animal Mr. Lorillard had ever owned. 

I had so concealed the running qualities of my horse 
that no one knew what he could do. Trainers were betting 
suits of clothes that I would not even start, and that I was 
simply taking him to the track to get a badge for the meet- 
ing. 

Mr. Bell did not even know I was going to take his 
horse to Long Branch and he was suprised when I tele- 
graphed him that I was going to start Harry Gilmore in the 
great stake. I further told him I believed I could win and 
advised him to get down all the money he could on his 
horse. He took my advice, and it was not long until people 
began to wonder what I meant by starting such a horse and 
what Mr. Bell meant by betting his money. This did not, 
however, lessen the odds on the horse's chances. 

Billy Donahue was on Gilmore, and the horse walked 
out in front of the stand looking as fresh as a daisy. My 
instructions to the rider were for him to keep out of the 
new-made ground on the track and never be out of the race 
at any time. I said I would stand at the half-mile pole until 
after he passed me, and to keep forcing the running as long 
as my hat was in the air. He had the best horse under him, 
I said, and there was nothing in it that could touch him if he 
followed my instructions. 

Donohue did just as I told him, and when he passed me, 
forty yards in the lead, I yelled to him to sit steady and 
keep going, as he had the race as good as won. The other 
horses were never able to get within speaking distance of the 



64 

fleet-tooted Gilmore, and he galloped in under a pull, win- 
ning the first Omnibus Stakes ever run. 

It was the greatest surprise of the time, as everybody 
figured that he did not have one chance in a thousand of 
winning. I wagered all the money I could raise on the race 
and won everything I went after in the financial line that 
day. 

This race set people to thinking, and after that no man 
ever accused me of having a badge horse in a race. It was 
generally considered, always, that when I started in a race 
I felt sure I had a chance of winning. I might buy the 
poorest skate, and put him in a race with a lot of first-class 
platers, but my horse never lacked support. In fact, I 
made it a point never to start a horse as a favorite, and I 
never did so. I always endeavored to get as much money 
for the owner as I could, and to do this I sometimes had to 
train by candle light; but no one ever knew what one of my 
horses was going to do. It was but fair to the owner to get 
him the best odds possible. 

When I returned to the West I met Mr. Bell, who, by 
the way, had never seen me since I took charge of his string. 
When I turned over $20,000 in winnings to him he could 
hardly believe what I said. At first he said I could not have 
paid my expenses out of the money, but I assured him that 
such was the case. 

Harry Gilmore afterward ran in the Stallion Stakes at 
Louisville against my advice, and was defeated by two 
horses, for the reason that he never could run in the mud. 
Clay Pate, a sure enough mud horse, captured the race, but 
he could never have landed first past the post had the going 
been fast and to the liking of Gilmore. At the same time 
we had in our stable Dave Yandell, a horse that liked the 
mud, and could easily have won. In fact, I tried my best to 
induce Mr. Bell to start Yandell; but James Guest, a half 
owner of Gilmore, wanted to start his horse, and I had to 
submit. Thus we lost a stake that should have fallen to us. 

We moved to Chicago from Louisville, and I won the 
two-mile- and the three-mile-heat races with Dave Yandell, 
beating some of the best horses there. Harry Gilmore got 
the mile-heat race handily. After this I returned to St. 
Louis and spent the winter. The next season I started out 



65 

with the same stable, and going to Chicago I won the Board 
of Trade Handicap with Harry Gilmore. Three days later I 
won the great cup race, beating John Davis, Lida Stanhope, 
Farragut and a half dozen other flyers, over a course two 
and a quarter miles. This is the only one of Buckden's get 
that ever went a cup distance. 

At the close of this meeting I turned Mr. Bell's horses 
over to their owner, and they were taken back to Denver. For 
a few months I rested at my farm, and then I went to Chicago 
and bought Big Three and another four-year-old called 
Fayette, by Australian Chief. With them I earned more 
than $30,000 for the Ruddy Brothers that season. 

Col. Robert A. Johnson and John Churchill then en- 
gaged me to train their horses. In the string were Powhat- 
tan, Loftin, Adrian and Miss Bowler, all of which were 
famous in their day. The horses were in wofuUy bad 
shape. They were vicious to an extreme and had been 
beaten everywhere they had been raced. Every trainer 
that had had hold of them said there was nothing in them ; 
but I thought there was and 1 went to work on them. I 
knew there was no use in trying to race them at once, but I 
paid all the declarations and forfeits. Leaving Chicago for 
Saratoga, I prepared for active business. In a race between 
Pearl Jennings and Powhattan, a dash of a mile, the latter 
was victorious in 1:41^. Up to this time Powhattan had 
never gone a mile in less than 1:43 over the fast Western 
tracks, and this performance was remarkable. As in all my 
previous races, I sent him to the post a rank outsider. Col. 
Johnson had little hope that I would succeed in making race 
horses out of any of the string, but he had confidence in my 
ability and knew that if such a thing were possible I would 
do so. 

The horse had pleased me so well in his trials that I 
telegraphed the owners to put a good bet down, and they 
did so, winning heavily. There was very little outside bet- 
ting on Powhattan, and the odds were as good as 6 to i 
against his chances. 

Four days later he won another race at a mile and five- 
eighths, winning easily. 

In the meantime preparations were going on for the 
great cup race that was to come off ten days later. In it 



66 

were Powhattan, Bob Miles, Boatsman, Modesty, Jim Doug- 
las and several others, but these were the best. The event- 
ful day arrived and Powhattan was not thought well of. The 
odds were as big as lo to i against him. Modesty and 
Boatsman were the favorites, but the others had some fol- 
lowing. 

Well, the flag fell to a good start, and Boatsman started 
off in front, with Modesty second, Jim Douglas third, Bob 
Miles fourth, Powhattan fifth and the others strung out. At 
the end of a mile and a quarter Bob Miles went through the 
bunch. Powhattan followed closely behind. These posi- 
tions were maintained until the end of the chute was reached. 
All the time Powhattan was creeping slowly forward. Fitz- 
patrick, on Miles, saw the danger and plied whip and spur. 
Hay ward, on Powhattan, however, was not to be shaken off, 
and at length he was on even terms with the flying leader. 
On down the stretch they thundered, neither seeming to be 
gaining an inch, and when they passed under the wire they 
were so close together that it was fully twenty minutes be- 
fore the judges were able to decide which had won. Finally, 
they gave it to Bob Miles, and thus ended one of the great- 
est races ever run. The others were hardly to be considered 
in it, for they were so far away at the finish that the crowd 
had almost forgotten them when they came under the wire. 
I had placed the horses in just this position previous to 
the race, and I urged my friends to get down on it. They 
did so. Col. Bob Pate, one of the best-known turfmen of 
the country, owned Boatsman, and he wagered heavily on 
the result. 1 met him just before the race. I persuaded him 
to back my horse for the place and Miles to win. He did 
so, and it saved him from serious loss. 

Back to St. Louis I came and annexed the four great 
stakes, winning two with Powhattan and Loftin, meeting 
Buchanan, the Kentucky Derby winner, and Troubadour,who 
has since become famous as the property of that representa- 
tive turfman, Col. S. S. Brown, of Pittsburg, During my 
trip abroad I had been quietly working Loftin along, but 
had never raced him, for his ankles were sore and he was in 
a precarious condition. 

But by the time he arrived in St. Louis he was fit to 
run for a man's life, as the saying is. I had him entered in 



67 

all the big stakes, and when he met Buchanan, who had 
beaten him at Louisville, he quickly took the measure of his 
one-time conqueror. Even Troubadour had beaten poor old 
Loftin when he was too sick to run and give an account of 
himself, and this made the victory a doubly interesting one. 
It illustrates very clearly the point I have always made, that 
a trainer must understand his horses before he can make 
them do their best. Then a horse should always be fit before 
he is started. Otherwise you injure the horse and perhaps 
destroy his chances forever. 

Over at Churchill Downs, in Louisville, I found stable 
room, and in a race of a mile and three-eighths, in which I 
ran Powhattan, he was beaten a head on the post because 
the boy could not get him out of a pocket. I warned him 
against it, but cunning little Stoval and another bo)'- pulled 
together, wedge-like, and shut him oflf. They held him for 
a mile. If he could have got out at any time during this 
period he would have won. 

In a two-mile-heat race later Powhattan was a winner, 
and Col. Sam Bryant, who once owned the famous Proctor 
Knott and won thousands of dollars with him, remarked 
that my work on the horse was something so remarkable 
that it was beyond his comprehension. He had left Louis- 
ville in the spring a cripple, sick, broken down and abso- 
lutely of no account, and now he had returned one of the 
best horses of the year. 

That fall I fired Loftin and brought him back to St. 
Louis. During the ensuing spring Col. Johnson died at 
Knoxville, and thus passed away one of the truest and best 
friends any man ever had. He was often called the " Mag- 
net of the American Turf," so attractive was his personality, 
and no man so well deserved the title. Everybody liked him 
and he liked everybody. 

This untimely and sorrowful incident necessitated the 
settling up of his estate, and I repaired to Lexington with 
the horses that had made his name famous all over the 
country and that had won him so many thousands of dollars. 
Even now, as I write it, tears come to the eyes of the man 
who loved him as devotedly as a brother. 

The horses were sold at public sale and the string drifted 
apart. This ended the association of two men who had been 



68 

friends for fifty years, and there was never a parting in which 
there was greater reluctance. 

When the hand of death's angel is laid upon me, 
And my course upon earth has fully been run, 

May I find there in waiting, beyond the dark sea. 
The face of my old friend as bright as a sun. 



CHAPTER IX. 
My Recollections. 

Another horse I took, when she was considered to be 
totally unfit for racing, was Nannie B., by Glenco, out of 
Mary Churchill, by Alex. Churchill. The mare belonged to 
Warren Viley, and previously he had given John Harper a 
half interest in her for training the animal. After working 
with her for months Mr. Harper came to the conclusion that 
she was utterly worthless, and he so informed Mr. Viley. 
The latter had no confidence in her ability himself, but he 
gave Mr, Harper $ioo for his half interest in her. 

Mr. Viley thought after awhile that there might after 
all be something in the mare, and he persuaded me to take 
her on shares. I was to stand all the expense of training and 
was to conduct the campaign with her. I found her condi- 
tion had not been misrepresented. She was even worse off 
than had been claimed. 

She was a mare that required very little or no training, 
and I found, after a careful investigation, that Mr. Harper 
had trained her too much. She could not stand the hard 
work. He was unable to make her eat what she needed to 
sustain her. The heart was taken out of her by the constant 
strain, and, as a result, when she was placed in a race, she 
made no showing. 

A trainer should study the horse upon which he is work- 
ing, in order to make him do what he is really capable of 
doing. Where one horse requires constant hard work, 
another will need next to nothing, the rest being all the 
preparation that is necessary. There are hundreds of train- 
ers to-day who are simply working the racing properties out 
of their horses and rendering them useless for the future. It 
is true, they may succeed in winning some few races by this 
system, but in the end the fallacy of the treatment will be 
proven. 

It was but a short time until I became convinced that 
such was the case with Nannie B. I gave her a rest, and she 
brightened up and began to take on flesh and strength. In 



70 

a month she did not look anything like the poor, worn-out 
animal she was when I got her. There was an elasticity in 
her step that had not been perceptible before. Short gal- 
lops and a healthful appetite brought back her vigor and 
put her in shape. 

When I thought her about fit, I put her in a mile race 
with several good ones and she was first past the post. The 
same week I put her in another race, the Green Stake, at 
mile heats, where she met a horse that John Harper had 
trained and beat him easily. She met Volga, a full sister to 
the great Vandal ; Charley Woods, an own brother to Maria 
Woods and Anna Travis, and was defeated by Volga in four 
heats of two miles each. She finished second, being beaten 
by a head, and should have won. The jockey laid too far 
back and had too much of a gap to make up at the finish. 
Had he followed my instructions we would have landed the 
race, as I won the first heat, ran a dead heat the next one, 
and ought to have had the other. As it was, Volga got the 
last two heats. 

On the day following I sold her to a man named Lewis, 
of Alabama. In the South she won many races afterward 
and brought her new owner considerably more than the 
$3,500 he paid for her. 

Afterward I trained a little horse called Iceburg, by 
Zero, belonging to James Wood, on shares. At Crab Or- 
chard I ran him for five days in succession and won every 
race in which he was entered. I afterward won a couple of 
races with him at Lexington and lost to Red Oak by a head 
at two miles. He gave Red Oak the hardest race he ever 
had in Kentucky. It was the only time I ever saw Red Oak 
extended. I sold Iceburg that week to a Northwestern lum- 
berman, who ran him successfully for a couple of years in 
Wisconsin and Iowa. 

Then I made a campaign into Virginia with Adle Giser 
and Sam Letcher, but previously I had been into Canada 
with them and won many good stakes. At the Broad Rock 
track, near Richmond, I made a match for $5,000 a side with 
David McDaniels, the owner of Carolina, a mare that, up to 
that time, had never been beaten and had a series of victories 
to her credit. The Virginians had begun to think the mare 
was invincible. The distance agreed upon was two-mile- 



71 

heats, and Sam Letcher represented my stable. Carolina 
won the first heat by about a length. In the second heat I 
instructed my jockey to take the lead and force the running 
all the way, as I felt I had the best horse and that Letcher 
could win. Besides, I had a desire to bet a little money on 
the race. 

Thomas Eans, a sporting man from Nashville, bet me 
$ioo to a cravat that Carolina would defeat Sam Letcher. I 
took the bet and went on cooling out my horse. 

They went to the post for the second heat, and, accord- 
ing to instructions, my boy got off in front and pushed 
the horse for all he would stand. The boy on Carolina 
trailed along, thinking he had something in reserve in the 
mare, but when he called upon her at the finish he found 
that she had about exhausted herself, and she was five 
lengths behind as my horse passed under the wire. Every- 
body realized that the race was practically over. 

In the third heat my horse went to the front and took 
the lead all the way. He won easily, and once more Old 
Kentucky had scored a triumph. Thousands of dollars 
changed hands on the result of the race, for the Kentuckians 
had faith in me and my horse. 

At Fairfield I made a match for Adle Giser with Mc- 
Daniels against Carolina for $5,000 a side. My horse took 
the lead at the start and won handily. Then we made 
another match for the same amount between the same horses, 
for McDaniels was not yet satisfied. It resulted as before. 
Still McDaniels thought he had the better animal and we 
matched them for $2,500 a side, but the game little mare 
had met her mistress in Adle Giser, and it was clearly estab- 
lished that both my horses were her superiors. McDaniels 
afterward became discouraged and forfeited the money in 
the last match. 

At that time McDaniels could have won, for my horse 
was badly chafed and in bad shape. But I pretended that 
Adle Giser was all right and had her on the track at the 
time the drum call was made. McDaniels had informed the 
judges that if I came out with my horse he would forfeit his 
money; and when they saw me ready, or apparently so, they 
declared the race off. I won this race through a bluff, for 
the chances are that I would have lost. 



72 

McDaniels, and Belcher, his trainer, who, by the way, 
trained the great Boston, followed me to Baltimore and 
purchased both my horses, so impressed were they with 
their worth. A peculiar fact connected with this purchase 
was that these men raced these horses for two years and 
never won a race with them. I do not know why it was, 
unless it was because they did not understand their tempera- 
ments and how they should be prepared for bruising con- 
tests. 

Afterward I took a half dozen colts for Joseph Boswell, 
among which were Gabriel and Charley Wheatley, at Lex- 
ington, and developed them. I did not race these horses, 
for I transferred my talents to the string of Judge John 
Hunter, of Mobile, Ala. He had in his string Lorette, 
Mary Ogden and Red Eagle, all good horses. We won 
several races in the State, and then went to Columbus, Ga., 
where I won a stake with Lorette at mile heats, beating Bill 
Cheatham, a Tennessee colt of some renown. I also got 
a mile race with Mary Ogden. 

Lorette lost to Sox at Savannah, Ga., but he was a 
great horse, and there was little disgrace in losing to him. 
In a dash of two miles Mary Ogden was a winner here. 

Probably the most remarkable campaign in my career 
was with Frank Allen and Moidore. They belonged to 
Pryor Brothers and Berry Brothers, of Columbus, Ga., 
The campaign opened at Columbia, S. C, and all the great 
horses of the North and South were assembled there. 

My first race was a stake event, in which Frank Allen 
represented my stable. Charley Ball, who had a year be- 
fore beaten Frank Allen in a $5,000 match; Laura Spillman, 
Mary Blueskin, Floride and Griff Edmondson were the 
starters. It was a two-mile-heat race. Charley Ball annexed 
the first heat without trouble. The next two heats fell to 
Frank Allen, who in the third heat made the best time that 
has ever been run over the track. 

The next day I won a three-mile-heat purse with Moi- 
doire from John Aiken and several others. It was probably 
the best race Moidoire ever ran. Then I won a four-mile- 
heat stake race with Frank Allen in two straight heats, 
beating Cordelia Reed, Laura Spillman and a couple of 
others. 



73 

At Savannah I won a three-mile-heat race with Moidore' 
beating Tar River, a noted horse of the time, and several 
others. At two and four miles Frank Allen again won. 

The feature of this campaign, which ended at this time, 
was the fact that my horses always beat horses that had pre- 
viously in other campaigns beaten them. We probably won 
about $30,000 in purses alone, but the owners were big bettors, 
and when I told them my horses were fit they never failed to 
get down with all they could get placed. The result was, 
they must have "cleaned up," as the saying is, about $100,- 
000. There was hardly ever a time we lost, and even then I 
saw that they had their money safely " placed." Thus they 
never lost. The campaign was remarkable because of the 
winnings and the running of the horses that were thought 
to be of inferior class. 

Glendower and Laclede were placed in my hands by 
B. F. Hutchinson in Missouri, and I raced them through a 
vigorous campaign. Glendower was one of the fastest horses 
I ever handled. 

There were hundreds of other horses that I trained and 
raced, but many of them attained no especial fame, although 
they frequently won races. In any event, the owners never 
suffered financially through my training, and they knew that 
when I pronounced a horse unworthy of training that there 
was no hope in him. 



CHAPTER X. 
Home of the Racer. 

Kentucky may to-day be virtually termed the home ot 
the thoroughbred, for it has certainly produced more great 
race horses than any other section of the world. The Blue- 
grass country is the richest in the " dark and bloody 
ground," and its emerald-hued fields abound with grand 
farms and magnificent training quarters. 

Probably the first race horse ever brought to this State 
was taken there by Leonard Israel Fleming, who laboriously 
worked his way over the mountains from Virginia, and after 
many privations arrived at his father's estate in Kentucky. 
It was a vast tract that had been ceded him by the govern- 
ment and was uncultivated, but it was in the fertile country 
near where Midway now stands. It is claimed also that he 
established the first race track in the State on the Forks of 
Elkhorn, but this point is in dispute. However, everything 
goes to show that the first track was built in that vicinity. 
Mr. Fleming was the grandfather of Mr. Andrew M. Sulli- 
van, a leading attorney of St. Louis, and also of the late 
Judge W. B. Fleming, of Louisville, Ky. The Rev. Thomas 
Lewis, an old negro preacher, of St. Louis, Mo., claims to 
have been Mr. Fleming's jockey, and says that when he 
became too heavy to ride he was taken out of the saddle 
and placed in the pulpit by his owner. 

A mention of the States that have produced the great 
thoroughbreds of the country will be of interest to the 
reader. Of course, Kentucky stands at the top, as has been 
stated, for she has the location and everything that pertains 
to the making of splendid horses. 

Probably the greatest sire Kentucky ever produced, and 
of whom the loyal natives of the State will always point to 
with pride, was Lexington — a name that is a household word 
in the State famous for its pretty women, fast horses and 
good whisky. Lexington was a wonderful horse, of his age, 
as a performer at all distances ; but he gained his greatest 



75 

fame in the stud, and his sons and daughters have perpetu- 
ated it. He was bred by Dr. Warfield. 

Medoc probably comes next on the list. Fleet of foot, 
he won many great races and earned for his owners thou- 
sands of dollars on the track. He was bred in New Jersey 
by John and Robert Stephens, purchased by John Buford 
and brought to Kentucky, where his fame did not languish. 
Here he did yeoman service in the stud, and any owner of 
to-day is happy to be able to show the Medoc strain in his 
horses' breeding. His mares, like those of Lexington, 
earned glory on the turf and in the stud. 

Glencoe was imported from England by Mr. Jackson, of 
Tennessee, and Frank Harper, who was known as "Glencoe 
Frank," to distinguish him from his cousin of the same name, 
purchased him and took him to Kentucky. There was but 
one horse in the world of his day that could beat him, and 
that was Plenipotentiary, who took his measure in Old Eng- 
land, before he came to this country. He ran no races in 
this country, but was remarkably successful in the stud. His 
mares proved a splendid cross for any and all of the stallions 
of his time, and his name will live as long as there is an 
American turf. 

Leamington was imported from England, and for a short 
time remained on Staten Island, N. Y., then went to the 
farm of Abe Buford, where he was at once put in the 
stud. He got some of the greatest race horses of the world. 
Out of eleven mares he produced nine horses that distin- 
guished themselves as performers. When he was taken back 
to Philadelphia he produced Parole, a horse good enough to 
go to England and defeat every other animal with which he 
came in contact. 

Hanover was bred by Clay & Woodford, near Lexington, 
and until his death he was a great sire. His get are winning 
many of the races of to-day, and nearly every one of his sons 
and daughters are considered almost invincible. Some of 
the great horses that are now traveling about through Eng- 
land and America are his immediate descendants. His fillies 
are not old enough to be breeding ; but they will be heard 
from in the near future, and such shrewd owners and train- 
ers as John E. Madden are securing all of this stock they are 
able to obtain. 



76 

Longfellow was bred by John Harper, in Woodford 
County, and distinguished himself as a great performer. 
Then he was placed in the stud, and his descendants are the 
noted horses of the country. A horse that traces his lineage 
to Longfellow is certainly bred in the purple and has a claim 
to equine royalty. 

Richard Ten Broeck imported Phaeton, who produced 
many great horses. He sired the mighty Ten Broeck. 

Ten Broeck was bred by John Harper and held the 
record from one to four miles for many years. Ten Broeck 
was placed in the stud and got many horses of mediocre 
caliber, but he probably would have done better had he been 
bred to the proper kind of mares. 

Himyar was bred by Major B. G. Thomas at Lexington 
and was one of the fastest horses of his day. He was badly 
managed in many respects, but, at the same time, he was 
certainly a great horse. The wonderful animal was by 
Alarm, out of Hira, by Lexington, and Hira was out of 
Hijira, by Ambassenger. He came from a singularly dis- 
tinguished family. Himyar sired Domino, Highflight, Hataf 
and others, all of whom became known to fame. 

Virginia probably comes next on the list. It was there 
that Boston, Florisel, Sir Archy, Henry, Red Eye and others 
had their origin, and most of them became good sires. Sir 
Archy was probably the best of the lot as a producer, and 
his get are to be seen in the leading strains to-day. " Inspec- 
tor, by Boston,'' Nat Pope, Planet, Financier and Revenue 
might also be mentioned with Fanny and Sue Washington. 

New Jersey has a claim to distinction, for it was the 
home of Duroc, the sire of American Eclipse, Medoc and 
several other great sires whose progeny have climbed to the 
pinnacle of turf fame. All of them produced winners, and 
their get are perpetuating their fame. New Jersey will 
never sink into obscurity as a breeding place of the country. 

Maryland comes into notice because of her many impor- 
tations of great stallions, and the sturdy stock produced 
from them is a monument to her fame in that respect. This 
State had in its early days a class of breeders who did not 
hesitate a moment when it came to expense in getting the 
very best there was on the market at the time. Among her 
eminent sires was Maryland Eclipse, whose produce were 



77 

among the winners of the long ago, and whose greatness has 
not yet been forgotten. The strain is traced by some of the 
noted horses of to-day. Catesby and St, George were also 
sires of the olden time. 

While New York is now the greatest racing center of 
the United States, she also has a claim as a breeding place, 
for there have been many good sires in the Empire State. 
The greater part of them were importations, and, while they 
did not leave such a vastly distinguished progeny, they were 
breadwinners in every respect. Sensation was a great stal- 
lion, owned by George Lorillard, and was never beaten in a 
race. He had remarkable powers of speed and endurance, 
and was by Leamington, out of Susan Bean. 

Down in old Tennessee, with its mountains and dells, 
fine farms and pleasant people, there were many great stal- 
lions. Imp. Albion, Stockholder, Leviathan, Jack Malone, 
imp. Great Tom, Inspector B., Iroquois, Vandal, imp. St. 
Blaze and a half dozen others all distinguished themselves 
in the stud on the beautiful stock farms there. Every day 
one hears of their get. Gen. W. H. Jackson owns the 
beautiful Belle Meade, and some of the grandest colts and 
fillies in the world have romped on the pastures there. As 
a breeder Gen. Jackson stands at the head of the list in Ten- 
nessee and is noted for his strict integrity and fairness in 
dealing with men. 

Alabama gets her fame through imp. Buckden, one of 
the best stallions of his day. He was owned by Capt. Wil- 
liam Cottrell, of Mobile. Brown Dick was bred in Alabama, 
but was owned and stood in Tennessee. 

Some of the highest bred and best producing stock came 
from South Carolina, where imp. Sovereign, owned by Wade 
Hampton ; imp. Rowton, and a host of others added to the 
luster of the American turf through their progeny. 

Bonnie Scotland stood first in Ohio and was imported 
by Reber & Kounce. Monarch, Bronx, Clay Trustee and a 
few others stood in the Buckeye State, but Bonnie Scotland 
was the greatest stallion that ever did service there. 

The boast of Illinois is that she had West Roxbury, sire 
of Force, Renown, Rocket and Startle ; Zero, the son of 
Boston and Zenobia; imp. Billet, Hyder Ali, Uncle Vic and 
a few others who left a vast progeny. 



78 

Missouri iiad Tom Moore, Voucher, Giendower, Virgin- 
ius, Frogtown, Harry O'Fallon and others of less note. Imp. 
Sain, imp. Foul Shot, imp. Donald A., imp. Siddartha, imp. 
Joe Norwood, Ten Stone and Freeman are making the his- 
tory of the State to-day. Barney Schreiber, Dr. A. A. Mc- 
Alester and Joseph D. Lucas are the principal breeders of 
the State, and the animals bred at their places are fast earning 
laurels for themselves and their owners. The breeding in- 
terests of Missouri are developing all the time, and she will 
soon be able to share honors with many of the mighty ones. 
California, last but not least by any means, is doing a 
great deal for the thoroughbred interests of this day. Among 
the most noted and foremost of the breeders of race horses 
in this State may be mentioned Messrs. G. B. Haggin, J. B. 
Baldwin, Waterhouse, Fred Gebhardt, and in former years 
Theodore Winters, who became distinguished by being the 
owner of Norfolk, Joe Hooker, Marion, Yotambian, The Zar 
and others that were noted. 

These are the principal States that are breeding 
thoroughbreds to-day, but there are many stallions of less 
note in a number of the sections that have not been men- 
tioned. 

In the year of 1849 ^^ ^^50 Mr. Charles Weir, of Powhat- 
tan County, Virginia, imported from England into America 
the horse Skylark, who for his great weight-carrying ca- 
pacity, his general hardihood and high ability to race, es- 
pecially at long distances, stood almost without a peer in 
any country of his day. Skylark won 24 King's Plates, 
which was a greater number than any other horse ever won 
up to his day. Skylark won 42 three- and-four-mile heat 
races. He was on two occasions entered to run two races 
in one day, which he did, and winning both races each time 
with consummate ease. He met and defeated Lady Elizabeth, 
who had distinguished herself by carrying 135 lbs., and ran 
four miles in 7:45. He also met and defeated the famous 
Economist twice, the sire of the immortal Harkaway, carry- 
ing at the time 168 lbs., four miles. He was always assigned 
the top weights in the handicaps and on one occasion was 
asked to carry in the Corinthian the extraordinary weight 
of 210 lbs. The change made in running the Corinthian 
was attributed to this horse's unparalleled performances 



79 

over a distance of ground with such heavy weights. At 
eight years old his owners issued a challenge to run any 
horse in the world, four miles, with top weight, for any 
amount, the parties who might accept to name the amount 
of the stakes to be run for; but as no one accepted the chal- 
lege, he was withdrawn from the turf, without even an oslct 
or splint, and as sound as an American dollar. 



CHAPTER XL 
Why They Won. 

It is sometimes very little things that cause horses to win 
or lose races. For instance, take the case of Belle of the 
Highlands, who lost to Checkmate at Saratoga in the cup 
race. John Huggins was training Belle of the Highlands at 
the time, and he was confident that his mare could win. He 
instructed his jockey, a little negro called Coley, to trail 
along closely until he came to a certain point where he would 
find a handkerchief tied to a fence, letting Checkmate make 
the running. As soon as he saw the handkerchief he was to 
urge his horse forward and come on and win. 

The distance was two and a quarter miles, and the boy 
followed instructions, always keeping not far away. But 
some one on the outside, it is claimed, removed the handker- 
chief, having learned of the arrangement and desiring Belle 
of the Highlands to lose, and when the negro lad rode down 
the stretch he kept looking for the sign to begin making his 
run. The longer he waited the worse his chances were. At 
length he saw there was no handkerchief, but it was then too 
late for him to win. He did his best and lost. 

Then there is the remarkable case where Kriss Kringle 
won a race at Latonia. He was old and stiff, a sulker, and it 
was a difficult matter to make him do his best. But on the 
day in question the boys in the stable were determined to 
make him win if it was possible. They put down their scant 
earnings on his chances and assembled at different parts of 
the track to watch the race. Kriss Kringle was sent to the 
post in fairly good shape, but he got off badly and ran in his 
usual slow manner around to the three-quarter pole. There 
a stable boy ran out, beating a tin pan to scare him into doing 
something. At this juncture an L. & N. train passed and 
the engineer gave the whistle a toot that was loud enough to 
have at least caused Rip Van Winkle to turn over while in 
his deepest slumber. Old Kriss Kringle gave a snort, tossed 
his head and let out a kink in his going. He shot by the 
others at lightning-like speed, and if ever he was anything 



like a stake horse it was on this occasion, for he passed under 
the wire an easy winner, and the lads who had wagered 
their money on him collected at odds of lo to i. 

Even in the great race between Gray Eagle and Wag- 
ner it was a trifling incident that brought about the victory 
of Wagner. Wagner would not do his best unless frightened 
into doing it, and the attaches of the stable were sent out at 
the turn at the head of the stretch. When it became neces- 
sary to close up the gap between Wagner and Gray Eagle at 
this point the stable boys began yelling in such a manner, 
that Wagner shook himself up and did what he was capable 
of doing. He shot to the front and kept the lead until he 
had won the race. 

An amusing little story is told of Sound Money, a horse 
owned by Alf Oldham, of Louisville, when he won a race at 
20 to I at Latonia. I do not vouch for the truthfulness of the 
story, but it was told me by a gentleman who claims to have 
heard of it at the time. Oldham had in his employ a little 
negro exercise boy, who had by dint of the most rigid econo- 
my accumulated $2 in actual cash, and this lad thought that 
Sound Money was the greatest race horse that ever set foot 
on a track. 

In reality Sound Money was windbroken and about on 
his last legs. He was once a very fair skate, but his useful- 
ness had been impaired by enlarged glands. Could this 
defect have been remedied he would have been a first-class 
plater and might have made his owner rich. 

Mr. Oldham sent the horse to Latonia and thought he 
might be good enough to win a race. One day he thought 
he had him fit, but he was mistaken, and he and his friends 
dropped their coin on him at short odds, for the tip had 
gone out that he was sure to win. The little black boy, 
however, held off, and he did not bet his hoard until the 
next time the horse started. Then he put it all down on 
Sound Money at 20 to i. Mr. Oldham thought so little of 
his horse's chances that he bet on another horse in the race. 
The horse got off fairly well and jogged along not far 
behind the favorite and second choice. He seemed about 
done for when he reached the head of the stretch, but he 
was not aware that he had two riders. One was on his back, 
Silvers, and the other was on the fence at this point. The 



82 

negro had a small pea-shooter in one hand and a dozen 
beans in the other. As soon as the time came for Sound 
Money to make his run, if he was ever going to do it, the 
lad began firing the beans at him from the little gun. Every 
one struck him in the right spot, and the way he got a hustle 
on himself and stepped to the front was a caution. In a few 
jumps he was in the lead, and gt)ing at such a rate of speed 
that nothing could overtake him. He won the race handily 
from the heavily-backed favorite. 

" Now, who would have ever thought the old horse was 
good enough to win that race ? " said Mr. Oldham disgustedly, 
as he stood at the stable watching a groom bring in Sound 
Money. 

" I did, boss," said the negro. " I had my pile on him, 
and I made him win." 

" How did you do it ? '' was asked. 

" Jes' shot him wif beans as he comes inter de stretch,'' 
said the boy. " Ise got 'bout fohty-two dollahs, I specs.'' 

Al Spink, a sporting writer of the West, tells a good story 
of how he once saved his life and that of his jockey by a 
clever trick. He was in St. Louis with a string of outlawed 
horses at the closing of the old Southside electric light track, 
and not a cent in his pockets. By some means he succeeded 
in persuading the railroad agent to ship his horses to Cairo 
and give him a free pass to the same place. A fair was going 
on in the little Illinois city, and it was Al's intention to make 
a book and run his horses there. When he reached the city 
he secured boarding quarters for himself and his jockey and 
obtained credit for feed for his horses. Among the animals 
he took with him was one known as Our Flossie. She was a 
filly with chain lightning in her heels and as dainty a look- 
ing little creature as one would wish to see. 

On the day of the fair opening a lot of towboatmen had 
just been discharged from their boats, there having been a 
coal run in the Ohio, and they were about the city spending 
the money they had earned by the hardest kind of work for 
the past two months. They all went to the fair and were 
all ready to bet their money. Al mounted the block and 
chalked up his odds on the first race. He put 4 to i against 
Our Flossie, and the steamboatmen and everybody else gob- 
bled it up as fast as possible. There was a scattering play 



83 

on the others, but it did not amount to much, and the penni- 
less bookmaker realized that he was in a serious predica- 
ment. He knew his horse could run all over the others in 
the race, and he called his jockey to him. 

" If you win this race," he said, " I will not be able to 
pay off, and these fellows will lynch both of us. If they 
catch you pulling, they will lynch you. Now, you must get 
the worst of the start and do your best in a quiet way to 
lose." 

" But if I see he can't help but win," pleaded the jockey. 

" Then fall off." 

" I might get killed that way, too,'' said the rider. 

" That don't make any difference, " was the reply. " You 
must lose." 

Our Flossie got off absolutely last, and the boy was 
doing his best to keep her in that position, but she suddenly 
got it into her head to make a run for it, and she did so. 
Away she went after the leaders at lightning speed and was 
fast gaining on them. The boy was praying for the safety of 
his master, for he thought there was absolutely no chance 
for him to lose. He pulled her gently, but she only ran the 
faster. At every leap she was nearer to the tiring leader, 
but she did not quite overtake him and lost by a head. 

" Boy,'' said one of the toughest of the steamboatmen, 
/'you made a good race, and if you had got off even you 
would have won sure. Don't be discouraged. You'll win 
some time." 

When I was out in Montana I heard a good story of In- 
dian sagacity. Bob Smith, of Tennessee, had been going 
every year to Milk River, on the upper Missouri, in the Dako- 
tas, and winning the furs of an Indian chieftain named Cof- 
fee. The latter was a natural born turfman, and had he been 
living in the civilized part of the world he would have had 
a string of some kind at least. He was as game as a pebble, 
and for several years he permitted Smith to come up and win 
his furs at horse racing. Smith would bring a good horse 
with him, race the Indian, win his furs, and then sell him the 
horse. The next year he would return with a better horse, 
race against the one he had sold the previous year, and again 
win the money. Finally the Indian began to get tired of 
this sort of procedure. 



84 

For a year he drilled his Indian starters and judges, and 
then Smith arrived. They raced for an immense pile of furs 
against a lot of guns, provisions and ammunition. At the 
finish the Indian judges came forward and said Smith's 
horse had won by about a head. Smith was ready to collect 
the stakes when the Indians at the start came forward and 
declared that Smith got off by about five feet the best. In 
those days they measured up the start and finish, and the 
best horse won. 

"You red-skinned devil," said Smith, "you know you 
have been training those scoundrels to do that for a 3^ear 
past.'- 

But the bet stood all right and Coffee collected the stakes. 
It was the last time Smith ever brought a horse to that 
country. 



CHAPTER XII. 
How to Ride. 

That the jockeys of the present are not as good as those 
of the past is apparent even to the most unsophisticated 
mind. In the olden times the boys were better judges of 
pace, obeyed instructions more closely and tried harder to 
win than they do now. Pulling and unfairness of any kind 
was comparatively unknown. 

Had a boy of the old regime pulled a horse or otherwise 
contrived to make him lose, his master would have pulled 
him off and given him the worst licking a lad ever had. 
Now the owner has no recourse, and he may see his horse 
lose through the deliberate machinations of the rider with- 
out being able to say a word against it. 

Many a time an owner would set a little negro rider on 
the back of a horse he knew could win and tell him if he did 
not bring the animal in first past the post he would kill him, 
and he meant it, too. It was worth as much as a boy's life 
to not do his level best. 

The short distances of to-day have much to do with the 
difference in the quality of the riding. But the boys of long 
ago, when all racing was fair, seemed to be better judges of 
pace, and they knew how to husband the strength of the 
animals they bestrode. Now, in the short dashes, it is simply 
a hustle and scramble to get off in front. Much of the igno- 
rance on the part of the boys is brought about by trainers 
who have never been riders themselves and do not know how 
to instruct and teach a jocke}'. " Get away in front and 
hustle home" is about all the average trainer says to the 
boy, and the latter sometimes tries to do as he is told. If 
the horse does not happen to be in the very best shape and 
anxious to run himself, he cannot depend on the skill of the 
rider to pull him through. 

The trainer forgets that it is pace that kills. Lexing- 
ton, if he had been pushed from the very first, would have 
done a half in :48, but he would have begun to tire and any 
horse of his time could have plodded along and beat him. 



86 

The trainer, as well as the boy, should use judgment. The 
pace must be graduated so as to fit the conditions of the 
horse and rider. The fight to " come through the nearest 
way " is what loses many a rider a race that he tries honestly 
to win. 

The jockey should be taught that every inch of an angle 
he makes in coming home must tax the strength of the horse 
and lessen his chances at the finish. That strength would 
be left in him and proper judgment been used, and he would 
have had it with which to finish at the wire. 

In entering the head of the stretch the jockey should be 
taught to avoid making an angle, and should take a bee line 
for the wire. Every foot of ground at this point tells on 
him, for this angle makes him run more than sixty feet more 
than he should. When trailing behind two horses that are 
running abreast the jockey should wait until the horses split 
at the turn, which they are sure to do, and then come 
through between them and save the turn. 

If there is any fear in a boy's composition, he has no 
business on a horse. Still, there are are lots of timid boys 
who become good riders, after having overcome that fear 
of a horse that they first entertained. Courage and confi- 
dence are the prime requisites, and the whole effort of the 
trainer must be to instill these two properties into the lad 
who aspires to become a jockey. 

A timid boy thrown from a vicious horse would stand a 
much greater chance of being hurt than one who had all his 
wits about him and was watching for a soft place in which 
to fall. 

When placed in the saddle by a trainer a boy should be 
first taught how to hold the reins. Then he should be 
informed of the method by which he may cling with his 
knees to the sides of the horse. 

In the event the horse is a plunger and one that is apt 
to rear and endeavor to shake him off, the boy must be 
taught to keep the head of the animal up. This is a very 
essential point, for in case it is not remembered distinctly 
the boy is liable at any time to let the horse get the mastery 
and run away with him. This may result disastrously to 
both the boy and the animal. Therefore, a trainer can not 
be too careful in this respect. 



87 

If the horse stops suddenly while in a fit of viciousness, 
the lad should loosen the reins and cling- to the mane. In 
case he held to the reins and pulled him, the animal might 
be thrown off his balance and fall back on the boy. This 
would happen in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, and 
much trouble may be saved by a trainer apprising a boy of 
this fact in time. 

The next thing to teach a boy is to avoid obstacles on 
the track. When he has mastered this feature he may be 
permitted to trot and walk horses about the track. Of 
course, the idea is that the boy has had some experience 
and knows how to hold his seat, for no absolutely green 
boys are ever taken. 

In galloping, the boy should always keep a firm hold of 
the reins in order to always have control of the animal. 
Slow gallops should be kept up for more than a month, for 
the reason that in the event the horse was sent along at a 
good rate of speed the boy might lose his own confidence and 
let the horse get the better of him. Then the boy would 
lose all the knowledge you had spent so much time in teach- 
ing him, and it might take months to restore it. 

By this time the boy has learned in a measure how to 
protect himself and has learned something of what he may 
expect of a horse. He can gallop, avoid bad places in the 
track, keep out of the way of other horses that are being 
sent along for trials, and is not afraid of the horses. 

Keep the boy on one horse all the time, for changing 
off on animals of a different temperament can not result 
efficaciously. His ideas then become fixed and he gets 
accustomed to the race horse. 

If he is a bright boy, at the expiration of two months he 
may be changed to another horse. In no stable are there 
two horses that have the same habits and dispositions. 
Therefore, the boy must become acquainted with the differ- 
ent varieties. 

In due time he learns how to manage a horse tolerably 
well, and the trainer is not afraid to put him on any horse in 
the string. But he is far from being a jockey even then, for 
he has not learned the more delicate points of the game. 

When he is able to gallop a horse at the highest speed of 
the animal, the trainer must begin to instill into his mind 



88 

some idea of judging the pace at which he is going. This 
is a most difficult matter, and there is not one boy out of a 
hundred that ever learns it. However, there are some. 
Isaac Murphy, the famous negro jockey, was one of the best 
judges of pace on the American turf. He could tell to 
almost the fraction of a second just how fast a horse under 
him was going. That is one of the things that brought 
him fame. 

I, therefore, urge that when a trainer sends a boy out 
for a fast quarter, half or mile, he should afterward tell him 
just how fast he was going, in order that the lad may form 
some idea for himself. This is the way to make a real 
jockey, and the only course to follow if a trainer is really in 
earnest with the boy. I have known good jockeys and boys 
who won many races who had not the slightest idea how 
fast they were going. These were exceptions. The}' 
would never have won in a race of the olden time, when the 
distances were greater than they are now. Any of the 
smart little negroes of Murphy's time could have made the 
best of these " get-off-quick-and-come-home boys " look very 
cheap. 

But the style of riding and the distances have changed, 
together with the horses. At the same time these points 
are all essential even now. Tod Sloan observes them. 
They are not foreign to Lester and John ReitT, Thomas 
Burns. Winnie O'Connor and a host of other good ones 
that might be mentioned. 

Pace must be taught the lad to make him a real, dyed-in- 
the-wool jockey. In the meantime he must of his own vo- 
lition and natural aptitude become acquainted with the habits 
of the horse. He must learn to feel out the animal and tell 
about what amount of endurance there is in the horse. Of 
course, in no case w^ould a jockey or rider be able to tell 
anything of a horse's condition or ability the first time he 
was placed upon him. The trainer alone is supposed to 
know this, but beyond his information there is something 
the boy must learn and something the trainer does not 
know. That is, at exactly the point the horse will begin to 
get tired. The boy feels this tiredness on the part of the 
horse and realizes it by intuition, but the trainer gets his 
information second-handed. Therefore, there are some 



89 

things on which the lad is better informed than the man 
who has the horse in training. 

But there is another and most vital point to be consid- 
ered, and that is the lad's nerve in a race. It would be folly 
to permit him to gallop a few horses about the track, be able 
to keep a firm seat and have control of a horse, and then 
start him in a race. He would in ninety-nine cases out of a 
hundred be scared to death before he got away from the 
post. I doubt if he could get away at all, and if he did he 
would be liable to run his horse the wrong way a half mile 
or more before he discovered his mistake. 

The trainer must send the boy along with a couple ot 
others for a sort of an impromptu race. Other owners who 
are anxious to see what their two-year-olds will do will often 
agree to these little races between their horses, and thus the 
lad who has started in to become a jockey gets an insight 
into how to get off quickly and what to do when he is off. 
He has learned by constant riding just what to expect of the 
horse, and he will try his best to win. 

Perhaps in two years the boy is ready to ride in a race, 
and he appears before the clerk of the scales, clad in all the 
gorgeous colors of the man in whose employ he is. As a 
general thing the trainer has given the boy the chance in 
order to get him accustomed to getting away from the post, 
for this is one of the most difficult feats he must be taught. 
There are boys on the track and riding every day now who 
will never learn this point, and they are daily betraying 
their ignorance, yet they secure mounts in some manner 
from ignorant trainers and owners. 

When the lad is put up for his first race the horse is 
usually of an inferior class and is just put in the race in 
• order to assist in getting both the boy and the horse in con- 
dition. But it may be that the boy is one of exceptional 
promise, that he has shown marked aptitude for the work, 
and has swept far ahead of the other exercise boys. In this 
case I would recommend, as in the case of Russell Ramson 
ot late years, to put him on a superior horse and let him win 
his first race. This will give him confidence and make him 
believe that it is not such a difficult matter after all to win 
races if a boy exerts himself to his utmost. He begins to 
fisfure in the next race where he has a mount how to at least 



90 

come inside the money and assist his owner. This boy is 
interested. He has determined to become a jockey, and he 
is going to leave no stone unturned to accomplish that end. 

But when he gets to the saddle, and is ready to go to 
the post with the instructions of the trainer ringing in his 
ears, he is, of course, all a-tremble. If the horse he has under 
him is a slow beginner, the lad is told to hurry him along 
into a good position and never get out of striking distance. 
Then to begin to make his run at the last quarter, no matter 
what the distance may be. As has been said before, he must 
avoid angles and get home the nearest way, as the trainers 
put it. If he runs wide at any turn, he has lost just that 
much ground. 

I would not advise any boy to go out and set the pace 
if he can help it, save in short dashes. Then the start means 
everything on a poor horse. The trainer, however, must 
be the judge of this, and he must tell the boy just what the 
horse will be able to do. Then the rider knows he must 
take advantage of every opportunity to improve the chances 
of his mount. If he is an honest boy, he will do so. 

Pockets are what are to be most carefully avoided for 
your own horse ; but it is a very good idea, if you can do so, 
to so ride the inferior horse that you will be able to pocket 
the superior animal and win from him. But this is one of 
the tricks that the novice has not acquired. It will come to 
him later if he is observant. No trainer will be able to teach 
him this, for no two races are ever run exactly alike and 
under the same conditions. A horse may get off well placed, 
far in front or almost left at the post without regard to his 
speed, and there can be no set rules for playing a neat trick 
and winning on a dark horse or long shot. Circumstances 
govern all such cases, and the boy must judge for himself 
what is best to do. 

I would suggest as a parting admonition that the boy 
keep as cool and collected as possible, never forgetting for a 
moment the capabilities of the horse under him, always 
watching what the others are doing and looking for a 
chance to forge ahead at the finish. 

A boy to keep in condition should ride as often as pos- 
sible. If he can ride six or ten races a week, it is all the bet- 
ter for him. The longer he remains on the ground the 



91 

worse it is for his ability, no matter how great he may be- 
come as a jockey. If he is not riding in public and getting 
paid for it, he should exercise in the mornings. Any owner 
would be glad to give him the chance. He should avoid the 
use of intoxicants, never smoke, chew tobacco or keep late 
hours. These are the drains that draw the life blood from 
the veins of a lad that might become great could he but 
overcome the evils. 

In reducing weight purgatives may be used, sweaters 
put on producing violent perspiration, long walks and trots 
taken, and even the Turkish bath is made use of. But there 
is no especial method that will apply to all boys. Turkish 
baths are so frightfully weakening that I would not recom- 
mend this system to any one, but it is a vigorous and quick 
way of reducing the fiesh. 

Every jockey should try to be a gentleman, should be 
honest, sober and careful in all he does. If he adheres to 
these principles, he will leave behind him a name that his 
descendants may point to with pride. I would say in this 
connection that I believe Tod Sloan to be all this and more. 
There are others, however, and their names will live for 
many years after they have retired to enjoy the fruits of 
their early industry. 



CHAPTER XIIL 
How to Breed. 

While racing has grown to almost stalwart proportions 
in the land of the free and the home of the brave, it must be 
admitted that breeding is not now carried on as judiciously 
as it might be. That is why the class of the horse is 
deteriorating. 

In the olden times the breeders gave more attention to 
the subject than they do now, and they were more careful 
in their matings. When a man had a mare that was weak in 
one point he invariably bred her to a stallion that made up 
for this defect, and the result was that the progeny was 
brought forth in almost faultless condition. 

This careful judgment has produced the horses of to-day 
that are winning the purses and stakes from one end of the 
continent to the other. I could name a hundred horses now 
that are useless simply because their breeding was de- 
fective. The idea seems to be to breed a mare to any 
stallion without regard to his or her temperament. 

It is to this carelessness that the sturdy hardihood is 
being lost. The whole idea is to secure speed without 
regard to durability. If a horse is able to step out and win 
a few stakes, he is considered as having performed his part 
and the one for which he was intended. As a point in illus- 
tration I would mention the case of Halma, truly a fine 
animal. He is fine of form, as pretty as a picture, and is of 
royal blood. When he came down from Lexington to run 
for the Louisville Derby he was truly an animal fair to see, 
and every turfman who saw him fell in love with him. It 
was impossible for a man to look at this colt, see him work, 
notice his graceful movements, and then fail to at least have 
a desire to bet on his chances. 

See what he did. He won the Louisville Derby with- 
out even extending himself, and when he passed under the 
wire he shook his black head with the air of a king. It is, 
therefore, no wonder that Julius Fleischmann, of Cincinnati, 



93 

one of the most enterprising- turfmen of the country, pur- 
chased him and paid the liberal price of $25,000 for him. 

Halma was a great performer on the turf for a few short 
months, and then he broke down under the terrific strain to 
which he was subjected. After becoming the property of 
Mr. Fleischmann he did not win a race of any consequence. 
He simply lacked the strength to stand the training. Had 
he been bred for strengtii as well as speed, he would have 
probably been one of the fastest and most successful horses 
on the turf. He would have earned his owner thousands of 
dollars and paid for himself a hundred times over. He is 
now in the stud, and his get are coming to the front 
through the judicious breeding of the proper kind of mares 
to him. Halma has the strains of the best blood in the 
land in his veins, and his progeny ought to further distin- 
guish him. 

Then there was Lieutenant Gibson, the son of lost Silk 
Gown. Gibson bade fair to become a grand race horse, for 
he had it in him to be one, but he lacked the strength that 
characterized his ancestors. Lieutenant Gibson won the 
Louisville Derby and then went wrong. He could not stand 
training. 

These are only a couple of cases that occur to me at the 
present time, but there are a host of others that might be 
mentioned. 

Then, on the same point, let us take the case of the 
mighty Ten Broeck. He was a racer of superior class. He 
left a record that for many years was unequaled, and there 
is not a turfman of to-day but remembers of his splendid 
battles for supremacy over the best horses of his time. Look 
at his get in the stud. But one or two succeeded. Bersan 
was a truly wonderful performer, as was Teuton and Ten- 
stone. 

The dam of Bersan was Belle Knight, a light, agile 
mare, full of fire and vigor. She was as fast as a flash of 
lightning and was just the kind of an animal that should 
have gone to his embrace. Lizzie Stone, the dam of Ten- 
stone, had the same conformity and was full of speed. This 
was equally true in the case of Teuton. But, strange as it 
may seem, Ten Broeck got no others that were above the 



94 

mediocre class. Some of them won races, but they did 
nothing to attract especial attention. 

The fault lies in the fact that no care was exercised in 
the mating. Heavy, bulky mares were bred to him, and he 
got a class of horses that inherited all the bad traits of the 
dams and but few of their illustrious sire's. The mistake 
was made in breeding Ten Broeck to such a class of mares 
The animals he should have had should all have been light, 
fast and vigorous. In the event the mare was of a vicious 
temperament or nervous to a marked extent, the docility of 
the sire would have offset this in the progeny. But every 
owner was anxious to breed his mare to Ten Broeck because 
he was a noted performer and because they thought it 
would add to the value of the produce if the Ten Broeck 
blood coursed through their veins. 

A man having a mare that he desires to breed to a stal- 
lion must first take into consideration all the weak points of 
the mare herself. He must give them careful thought and 
must not omit a single detail. Then he should consider the 
points of the stallion. If his mare is gentle, speedy and a 
sprinter, he should select a stallion that is full of good tem- 
per and strength. This is necessary in order to get all of 
these requisites in the foal. Then the greatest discretion 
should be used in bringing together the sexes. Of course, 
the first thing needed is a groom who knows how to educate 
the stallion to approach the mare in a gentle manner. No 
man owning a stallion that is making a season should neglect 
this very essential point. He should use the utmost dis- 
crimination in the selection of the groom who is to have 
charge of the stallion. 

When the stallion is brought out he should be perfectly 
broken. If he is a vicious and rushing animal, he should be 
held in check, so that the operation may be a natural one. If the 
mare is a timid creature, no matter how passionate she may 
be, the stallion may frighten her, and the result is frequently 
that she will slink. Then the groom should be able to judge 
whether or not she has caught. In the event he is unable 
to make a good prediction of her condition, he may breed 
her to another stallion when in reality she has caught by the 
first. Then the first or second stallion may have been too 
vicious, and the foal is lost. 



95 

I took a mare called Too Soon, a noted animal as a brood 
mare, and when I got her Dr. Warfield, of Kentucky, added 
a footnote to the bill of sale in which he said he believed the 
mare to be barren. I had looked her over and had come to 
the conclusion that she was not barren, but that the grooms 
who had managed her did not understand her. She was 
timid, and while she would accept any stallion at any time, 
she always went to him scared and full of nervousness. 

Under my care she passed another year, and then she 
was bred to a stallion. I saw that he was well broken and 
watched the operation. I saw that she was not frightened 
and that she was not injured by the stallion. The result was 
that she produced a foal, and the next year she did the 
same. Never after that did she fail, and some of her prod- 
uce made great reputations as race horses ; for instance, 
Garrett Davis, Jim Watson and Calleroo, all of whom came 
afterward. 

Another point that must be given consideration is the 
care of the mare after she has caught. She should not be 
kept in the quarters where she was formerly if there are 
other horses around. The groom should take her at least 
half a mile away, where there will not be the slightest odor 
of the operation through which she has just passed. She 
must be perfectly isolated. It is better not to let her see a 
horse or even a gelding, for it will make her more passionate 
than she was at the time in question. This state must now 
be gotten rid of, for the purpose has been accomplished and 
she is with foal. At the end of three days she will be her- 
self again, and the result is that the foal she brings forth is 
sturdy and robust. 

This is a matter that is not generally taken into consid- 
eration. Hundreds of foals have been lost or their value 
impaired by the groom in charge of the mare not knowing 
exactly what he should do. The mare ought to then receive 
the very best attention. This thing of scaring her, keeping 
her in the company of other horses during her pregnancy, 
and disregarding her comfort, may cause her to slink and 
perhaps injure her ability as a brood mare. One season of 
carelessness may ruin her for all time. Therefore, when a 
man pays from $50 to $250 for a stallion's services, he may 



96 

not only lose the money he has invested for the service, but 
he may lose the foal and the mare as well. 

How many of the breeders of to-day are there who con 
sider all these little intricacies? Not more than a dozen, to 
give a big margin. Of course, there are stock farms where 
such things are known all over the United States ; but there 
are hundreds where they are not observed, and the result is 
that an inferior class of horses is produced, often where the 
mating has been perfect and good foals should have been ob- 
tained. 1 could mention many of these instances now, but I 
do not care to say anything against a man who is in the busi- 
ness for the purpose of earning a livelihood. A peculiar fea- 
ture of it, too, is that this carelessness is observed in men 
. above the average in intelligence. They think all that is 
necessary is for the stallion to receive the mare in his em- 
brace and then return to the stable and go on with her usual 
work as if nothing had happened. Something has happened 
and another race horse is to be born into the world. Whether 
this animal shall be of high class depends wholly upon the 
treatment she receives at the hands of the groom who has 
her in his care. 

To sum it all up, the mare's peculiarities, both bad and 
good, must be carefully gone over ; then those of the stallion 
and lastly, but not least, the grooms handling both the ani- 
mals must have been well instructed. 



CHAPTER XIV. 
How to Boy a Horse. 

When a man concludes to purchase a horse for racing- 
purposes there are man}^ important points to be considered. 
Arriving at the scene of the sale, where there are a large 
number of yearlings offered, he looks carefully over the 
bunch. 

If he is not a man who knows all there is to know about 
horses, he should have some one with him who is versed in 
such matters. This is necessary to avoid as far as possible 
the making of mistakes. 

The first thing that should be done in the selection of a 
horse is to see that he is perfectly sound. The man offering 
him for sale should be made to walk and trot him up and 
down the street, paddock or place where the sale is held. It 
sometimes happens that a colt is injured in his infancy in such 
a way that the injury is not at first apparent because of the 
long rest he has had. 

But it is there just the same and it will sooner or later 
be made manifest. Perhaps he may afterward slip and ren- 
der himself perfectly helpless on account of this very injury. 

Therefore, too much care can not be exercised in this 
respect. When the animal is trotted and walked about for 
some time an experienced eye is liable to detect it. How- 
ever, the best of them frequently overlook such things and 
a poor animal is purchased. In the main such things are 
difficult to detect, but they are sometimes detected in time 
and much expense and annoyance is saved. The shape of a 
horse should also be considered. It should be seen that 
he has all the lines that indicate speed, endurance, docility 
of temperament and kindred accomplishments. Often it is the 
case that a most beautiful animal has but little speed. I have 
known of hundreds of such cases and could point them out, 
but it is hardly necessary in this connection. 

Then, having seen that the colt is sound, gives promise 
of speed and seems desirable in every particular, the pros- 
pective buyer should inquire into his pedigree. He should 



98 

be certain whether the sire or dam were speedy, strong, faulty 
or liable to transmit any defects tliat would in after life mar 
his chances of being a breadwinner. 

There are strains that inherit blindness, and this often 
creeps out in the fourth or fifth generation. I have known 
instances where this defect cropped out half a hundred years 
later. Many of the owners of these horses that became blind 
never knew what caused it and had them in the hands of a 
veterinary for months at a great expense to cure it, when in 
reality it was a hereditary taint in the blood, and some of 
their remote ancestors were afflicted in this way and handed 
it down to posterity. 

Of course, a colt with all these natural and perceptible 
accomplishments will command a good price and he can not 
be bought for a song, but it is better to have one good horse 
in a stable than two dozen bad ones. The former will earn 
money enough to pay for his keep, and the chances are that 
the poor ones will not win a race often enough to keep them 
in corn. That is why I say to a man, "Buy a good horse." 

Now, there are exceptions to every rule, and some of 
the best horses of the past century were sorry-looking 
yearlings and brought next to nothing. Men bought them 
and raced them and won with them ; but this is not the gen- 
eral rule. A blind hog is apt to stumble upon an acorn in 
the forest, but his chances are very poor, and the wideawake, 
active, hustling hog is apt to get all there is in the way of 
eating. 

But get a good horse, and then the mind naturally turns 
upon how to break him and put him in training to become 
useful. 

Put a halter on him first and lead him about. Then 
when he has become somewhat accustomed to this a bridle 
should be placed on him. Again, he should be led about. 
Then a pad should be girded on his back, not tight enough 
to hurt him, but just enou<;h to keep it in place. The idea 
of this is to get him used to having something on his back 
without being frightened. 

About two days later a groom should go into the stable 
and take hold of the horse's head. Then the boy who is 
o-ointr lo break him should be brouiiht in and he should catch 
hold of the mane, pat the horse on the sides and lean against 



99 

him. This is done in order to accustom the horse to bcmg 
touched, so it will not crini^e and become frii^litened every 
time he is touched. It assists materially in breakinj^-. Later, 
when the animal has lost some of his sense of fear, the boy is 
again brought in and the same operation is gone through. 
He knows the boy by this time, and the lad may be placed 
astride of him in the stall, with the groom h(jlding his head 
all the time. He simply sits there motionless, patting the 
horse gently, now and then soothingly, and soon the quiver- 
ing that was at first noticed in the sensitive animal's frame 
is observed to have vanished. 

This is done from time to time for several days, and for 
a half hour at a time the boy is kept on his back. When 
several days have passed a gentle or broken horse is brought 
out and placed in front on the track. The colt to be 
broken is led out by the groom with the boy to whom he 
has become accustomed on his back. For an hour this is 
kept up, and by this time the horse is no longer afraid of 
the boy. 

After the second day of this treatment a saddle is put 
on the horse, not girted too tightly, and the groom should 
lead him out of the stable to the track. Flic boy should be 
placed on his back, and the ^room releases his hold on the 
bridle. Always ageiiile horse shr)uld lead the way, for one 
horse will follow another much more quickly than he will 
walk alone, lie may be walked a half mile and then trotted 
another half. Keep this up for some time in (;rder to dispel 
as far as possible liis sense of strangeness or fear. The boy 
must be taught not to dig his heels into the animal's sides, 
for this will as a matter of course irritate him. 

By the end of a week he may be cantered over a portion 
of the track, but the boy should be instructed never to dis- 
mount without having some one hold the head of the ani- 
mal. This is a most important matter, for oftentimes a 
horse becomes frightened in the very beginning by this 
action and never fully recovers from it. 

During this treatment the horse should be rubbed 
gently and his feet taken up and picked out. All of this is 
an education to the colt. A cloth should be used in rubbing 
him, and it should be as soft as possible. He needs the best 
of attention at this period. 

LOFC. 



Another thing to be considered is the language used in 
stopping or starting a horse. In stopping him, if the groom 
or boy says " Whoa," he should always use just these same 
words in speaking to the horse. It becomes fixed in his 
mind and he knows what it means. A trainer should never 
forget this particular, for it is very helpful. 

The horse's course should be reversed when he is out 
for exercise or training, so he will get acquainted with the 
meaning of the bridle rein. He should not be turned always 
the same way, for it is often the case that swinnie is pro- 
duced by the constant turning on one shoulder. The muscles 
of the shoulder through sympath}^ shrink away. 

Thirty days have passed and the colt is galloping. The 
distance of these canters may be lengthened from a mile to 
one and one-quarter miles. The sense of touch of the horse 
has by this time become so accustomed to handling that 
plates may be put on his feet. But in order to get him sub- 
missive to this treatment his feet should be picked out every 
day, as was at first bt-gun. 

Then the colt should not be kept in the rear. He should 
be permitted to go alongside the older horse, and after a 
time he should be galloped first on one side and then the 
other. This shows him that position does not count for 
much and he is not going to be injured. At this point on 
entering the track the colt should always be put in front of 
the old horse and walked around the place where the gal- 
loping is to be begun. He should be sent out in front and 
made to keep that position in order to prevent his becoming 
a bolter. Teach him to lead as well as follow. 

The colt has caught his stride, and he ought to be sent 
out to make a run of about an eighth of a mile at a good 
rate of speed ; but no effort should be made to make him go 
faster than a 2-minute gait. This should be kept up for sev- 
eral days. 

The sixth week has been reached and the horse may be 
extended for a quarter of a mile. He is pretty well used to 
the changes and begins to realize what is expected of him. 
After he has gone a quarter of a mile several times at a 
good rate of speed, during which time he has been taught 
to go true and straight and not bolt about, he is about ready 
to show what there is in him. If he is not hurried, he will 
always go true and straight. 



lOI 



Then he may be extended to his best and given every 
opportunity to show what he can do. He is sent just an 
eighth this time. If he does not bear about by this time, he 
may show great speed or just an ordinary amount. Let 
two or three days go by and then give him this kind of a 
test again. The first two months, however, should always 
be worked fast in company with some other horse to lead 
him. Work him a quarter without forcing or hurrying him 
too much, and be careful that the ground over which he 
travels is perfectly smooth and that there are no holes or 
any obstacles to frighten or worry him. 

At this stage the colt has been sufficiently advanced to 
get a half mile's speeding in 58 seconds or a minute flat. 
This is a 2-minute gait. This may be repeated at intervals 
of every four days for two or three weeks until he is in his 
eighth week. Now the horse is sufficiently learned to be 
able to take hold of the bit. At the end of this time give 
him a fast half mile, and afterward let him canter about 
gently, so that he will not lose his temper. Keep him slowly 
at work. 

This terminates his training, and the owner may make 
engagements for him if he has shown sufficient promise. 
If he proves to be of no especial value, the best thing the 
owner can do is to get rid of him. 

But if he proves to be good, he should be kept going, so 
he will not forget his training and the lessons that have up 
to that time been taught him. 

All winter, if the ground is good, he should get work, 
and should be fed well to keep him high in flesh; but he 
ought not to be permitted to get gross. Only enough is 
necessary to keep him growing. This is the plan for a year- 
ling, but it applies to a two-year-old. The latter is more 
mature and he may have a little more work, for he is able 
to bear up under it better than the yearling. 

Colts that are put in training, li they are very fleshy* 
should be given lots of grazing. It makes them eat and 
feed better and cools them out, fills them with sap, and 
thereby they eliminate this lusty condition and are stripped 
of this superfluous flesh. Grass loosens this state of affairs 
and assists materially in the development of the animal. 



CHAPTER XV. 
The Noted Jockeys and Trainers. 

While America leads all other countries on the face of 
the earth for her horses, she also leads in the class of her 
jockeys. She has given to the turf many of the princes of 
the saddle, and by their skill and intelligence they have re- 
cently electrified all England and France. There was prob- 
ably never a year in the world's history that this fact was so 
exemplified as in the one just passed. 

Sloan, the Reiffs, Jenkins, Maher, Thorpe, Terrell, 
Hamilton and a half dozen others are the wonder of the far 
Eastern world. The}' have introduced a new style of riding 
that the English, French, Australians, Russians, Austrians 
and Germans do not understand, for it is entirely at variance 
with all their established rules. Yet the system wins, and 
now the English boys are being taught the method. In a 
short time the American method will be adopted exclusively. 

Probably the greatest jockey this country ever produced 
was Isaac Murphy. He was a brown-skinned negro lad, 
born in Kentucky, and rode many great horses. His first 
engagement was with the stable of Hunt Reynolds, who 
lived near Frankfort, Ky. Johnson & Churchill next secured 
his services, and he rode Ben d' Or, Little Ruflin and Sir 
Joseph Hawley for them, winning the majorit)^ of his starts. 
But with the string of Edward Corrigan, the " Master of 
Hawthorne," he made his reputation. 

With him Murphy rode Modesty, the winner of the first 
American Derby ; Freeland, who defeated the celebrated 
Miss Woodford ; Riley and other good ones. Murphy was 
noted for his honesty, and could always be depended upon 
in any emergency. On one occasion, it is said, he was 
asked to pull a horse. He firmly declined, and no amount 
of money would tempt him to do wrong. "You will have 
to get somebody else to ride your horses after this," he said, 
and he could not be induced to ride for that man again. 
There was never so good a judge of pace as Murphy. He 
could tell within a fraction of a second just how fast he was 



I03 

moving at every quarter. From one end of the country to 
the other he was famous, and every little boy who took any 
interest in racing knew of and had an admiration for Isaac 
Murphy. He was black of skin, but his heart was as white 
as snow, and when he passed under the string on the pale 
horse the old gentleman with the scythe tipped his hat 
politely and said : " Pass right into the parlor among the 
gentlemen angels." 

James McLaughlin began his career with William Daly, 
commonly known as " Father Bill," who sold his services to 
Michael and Phil Dwyer, for $800. McLaughlin was white, 
but, like Murphy, he rode many distinguished horses and was 
noted for his skill in the saddle. He sat upon the backs of 
such celebrities as Hanover, Hindoo, Luke Blackburn and 
Insoector B., and often piloted' them to victory. Jimmy was 
as honest as the day is long and was never accused of unfair- 
ness. If he ever pulled a horse or failed to do his best, I 
never heard of it. That is why he so enjoyed the confidence 
of the people, and a man who had a bet on one of McLaugh- 
lin's mounts knew he would get a run for his money and 
that if there was any chance for him to win McLaughlin 
would make the best of it. He is still alive at this" writing 
and is a trainer of considerabie note. 

" Snapper " Garrison was noted for his skill in finishing, 
and the " Garrison finish '' is spoken of to this day. One 
hears it at cards and in nearly ever}^ walk of life, where a 
man succeeds in accomplishing his object at the moment 
when he had begun to despair. Garrison rode for the 
Dwyers and all the big turfmen of the East. The lad was 
sober, steady and courageous, and his friends never lost con- 
fidence in him. Finally, he became so heavy that he was 
forced to retire from the saddle. He tried in vain at the 
end of his career to make the weight, but could not do so» 
and it is said he actually broke down and wept when he 
found that he must stop. Garrison did not possess the 
qualifications of a trainer, and he is spending the last days 
of his life in quietude. 

Fred Tarel began as a rider with Dan Honig, of St- 
Louis. He distinguished himself in the East and won many 
great races. One of them was the victory of Dr. Rice in 
the Brooklyn or Suburban — I have forgotten exactly which 
it was. 



L_ 



I04 

Bob Swim was with Dr. Weldon at St. Louis. Then 
he secured employment with Price McGrath, where he had 
the mounts on Aristides, Tom Blowline and Calvin when 
they won such remarkable victories. There was a time 
when Bobby drove cattle through the streets of St. Louis, 
and Dr. Weldon noticed him ridino: through the city and 
took a fancy to him. That is how he became a jockey, and 
when he won the Kentucky Derby with the "little red 
horse," Aristrides, for Price McGrath he was the idol of all 
Kentucky. 

Frank Jordan's career was a short one, but it was emi- 
nently successful. He started in at riding quarter horses 
down in the Indian Nation, and then drifted into the legiti- 
mate turf. When he went to St. Louis he became noted as 
one of the best riders that ever threw a leg over a horse. 
He bears the distinction of having paid one of the biggest 
fines ever assessed on the American turf. It was produced 
by alleged disobedience at the post, although the general 
opinion is that he was fined because he was breaking all the 
books at the track. So well did the lad manage his mounts 
that all the public wanted to know was what horse Jordan 
was riding, and then they would put their money down on his 
chances without regard to form. Little Jordan walked de- 
liberately into the stand where the judges were standing and 
counted out the money without a word of comment. It was 
afterward recovered ; but the lad showed he was game to a 
wonderful degree, and the public fairly idolized him. He 
rode Queenie Trowbridge in a race in New York and won 
$200,000 for McCafferty & Wishard. They had arranged 
for a grand killing, and they certainly made it. 

Tommy Burns started in with Tom Hearn and was very 
successful, but he has always had a hard time getting along 
with the owners for whom he rode. Afterward he rode for 
Jr)hn Schorr and Burns & Waterhouse. A good judge of 
pace and a careful general, he has won many races and is a 
most useful lad. 

Charley Thorpe is a good jockey and is noted for his 
honesty to his employers. One may always depend that he 
will do his best. He is now riding in Australia. Originally 
he came from the wilds of Nebraska, and the first good 
horse he ever rode was Belle K. Several owners had fixed 



I05 

up a race and arranged that Gen. Rowett was to win it. 
The men placed every cent they could raise upon Gen. 
Rowett, because they believed he was the best. The owner 
of Belle K. agreed to place Belle K., but he had not calcu- 
lated on the honesty of Thorpe. The boy positively refused 
to have anything to do with the scheme, and he went in and 
won v^rith his mount. " It broke us," said the gentleman who 
relates the incident, " but it shows the boy was honest." 

Alex, and George Covington are two of the best boys 
that ever sat in a saddle, and it will be a long time before 
they are forgotten in the turf world. A nice little incident 
is related of George Covington to show his thoughtfulness 
and freedom from that peculiar disease commonly termed 
"swelled head." George rode Strathmeath and won the 
great American Derby with him. After the race, in which 
thousands of dollars were won and by which Covington's 
store was greatly added to, he split the kindling and made 
the fire to heat the water for the purpose of cooling the 
horse out. In England Alex, distinguished himself, and is 
also a trainer and owner. 

John Spillman was a noted jockey of his day and was 
very popular. He was killed in a fight in the East and a 
great career was cut short. 

William Martin is now too heavy to ride, but only a few 
years ago he stood among the best. He has always been 
noted for his cool judgment and good generalship. In San 
Francisco he scored his greatest triumphs and won thou- 
sands of dollars. Unlike most jockeys, he saved his money 
and is now comfortably fixed. 

Of course, the mighty James Todhunter Sloan must not 
be forgotten. He came from a little town in Indiana. His 
brother, Cash Sloan, was in St. Louis, riding, and Tod ran 
away from his adopted parents and went to Missouri. 
There his first engagement was as cook for Col. Johnson, 
who owned Jim Douglas. Afterward he became an exercise 
boy. After the hardest kind of a struggle he fought his way 
up, and after a time he was considered good enough to ride 
at the old Southside outlaw track. Then he branched out 
and climbed to the highest pinnacle of pigskin fame. When 
fortune smiled upon him and when he was worth thousands 
he returned in truly regal style and made his foster parents 



io6 

happy. The little town fairly worships the lad, and he 
stands as high with them as does the President of the United 
States. In fact, they would be willing to run Tod for thai 
office if they thought he would accept the nomination. 

Danny Maher is a clever little fellow who came to the 
front a short time ago in the East, and is now in England» 
astonishing the slow-going Britons by his up-to-date methods 
in the saddle. 

John Wishard is in England and is training the hordes 
of Richard Croker. 

" Soup " Perkins was once a noted negro jockey of Ken- 
tucky, and two of the Derby winners passed under the wire 
first under his skillful guidance. He became too heavy to 
ride and retired, having quite a fortune. " Soup " does not 
know how to read or write, and it is said that when he re- 
tired he went home to the little cabin where he lived with 
his parents. They were very poor and his father had never 
had a good suit of clothes up to that time. Some one sug- 
gested that " Soup " fix the old man up a bit. He bought his 
father the loudest suit of clothes the market afforded and 
provided him with a watch nearly as large as a loaf of bread. 
From the old man's vest pocket there dangled a massive 
chain, and in his high hat he looked the swell negro sport. 
"Soup" attired himself in a similar manner, and when the 
two paraded the streets of Lexington they attracted all sorts 
of attention. 

Eddie Dominck is one of the best riders of to-day and is 
always adding to his laurels. 

Winnie O'Connor is certainly a wonder, and he stands 
among the best in the country. 

Willie Shaw rides for Pittsburg Phil, and it is to his 
success in the saddle that Phil owes much of the money he 
has won during the past two seasons. 

Joe, Hunter, Dave, Harry and Eli Vittatoe are five lads 
of one family that are riders, and good ones, too. Hunter 
was considered to be an excellent judge of pace. 

Johnny BuUman is a great favorite wherever he rides, and 
the owner he rides for always gets the best there is in the 
horse. 

Willie Sims was one of the best jockeys of his time, and 
he rode many winners in Derbies and stake events. 



I07 

Willie Newcom is a handsome little fellow who has had 
considerable success as a rider. He is honest, straightfor- 
ward and clever at his business. 

Willie Dale is a boy who is going to make his mark on 
the turf. 

Roscoe Troxler is one of the best boys that ever be- 
strode a thoroughbred. His brother Johnny is a good rider 
and a fine trainer. 

James Beauchamp is fast getting to the front and is a 
good rider. 

George Cochran comes of a race of riders, and his rel- 
atives have always distinguished themselves on the turf. 
Little George is going to be a great man some day. 

There are hundreds of other riders who might also be 
mentioned, but they have not aspired to the highest honors 
and have been content to win a race now and then. They 
are all good boys, however, and some of them may be sur 
prises. 

I have neglected to speak of Johnny Mooney, of St. 
Louis, a boy who is now too heavy to ride, but was once 
noted for his cleverness in the saddle. 

Some of the men as trainers of horses who have figured 
most prominently in making turf history, in both the old 
and the modern school, appear to me at this time — I mean 
representative men, who in every feature of their business 
added " lustre," if not greater confidence, national and in- 
ternational, in the high and refined motives which have at all 
stages influenced the gentlemen at the head in management 
of the American turf. If I were to attempt to enumerate 
all who are worthy to be recorded in this list, it would be 
quite as long as the moral law ; therefore, I will confine my 
remarks in mentioning but a few of the more prominent in 
both schools. The old school abounded in such men as 
Arthur Taylor, Captain John Belcher, Boston, trainer; both 
of these were from Virginia, and came up inthe Wm. R. John- 
son School; Bob Wooden, George R.Walden, Bony Young, 
John Alcock, of whom there is a pretty little story told as 
follows in connection with Mr. Wm. R. Johnson, who was 
once running his celebrated horse Duane against a horse 
that had been trained by young Alcock, and was but little 
known at that time, but afterwards became famous; but a 



io6 

rumor got circulated that Alcock's horse was entirely too 
fat or high in flesh and could not possibly run any. John- 
son, hearing and confiding too in this rumor, bet very heavily 
on Duane, but lost, and Alcock won at the termination of the 
last heat. As Johnson was casually passing by where Al- 
cock stood cooling out his horse, together with a number of 
distinguished gentlemen friends of Alcock's stable, Johnson 
called young Alcock, at the same time saying : " I have a bug 
to put in your ear ; I learned that your horse was a little 
too fat during the last day or two and in consequence of that 
rumor 1 am twent3'-five thousand dollars poorer to-day than 
I was yesterday. Now, my advice is to you to always keep 
him just a little too fat, but please let me know of it hereaf- 
ter when you have him that fat, and 1 shall be under many 
obligations to you. " 

This list were all from Virginia; there never was an ad- 
verse rumor about any one of them : Lee Paul, Thomas 
Paterson, Mat Davis, Gerome Edgar, James Davis, trainer 
of Jim Bell; Munk Fowler, Buck Elliot, Buck Franklin, 
Sandy Bames, Henry Welch, William JMcCormick, James 
McCormick, Isaac Vanleer, old man Ansel, old Charles, who 
became famous when he trained Wagener, and Charles Car- 
ter, Edward Harrison, Joe Porter, John Hamon, Benjamin 
Pryor, Addison Small, Washington Graves, Thomas G. 
Moore, Wilson Teasdal,and the late Capt. William A.Stew- 
art, than whom I never knew an abler or more capable man 
with every and all classes of horses, nor have I ever known any 
horseman who was held in anything like such general es- 
teem for his many estimable qualities. Amongst the men 
who have risen to prominence since the last half of the 
eighteenth century as trainers of credit and ability, and 
whose records can be said to be emulous, it may suffice to 
give a short list, as time and space are inadequate to do 
more at this time of writing. The late Ephraim Snedica, 
William Brown of Parole fame, Barney Reily, Matthew 
Burns, Franklin McCabe, Mr. Charles Patison, Mat Dun, 
Pat Dun, Red Bill, William McDaniel, Henry McDaniel, 
William Lakeland, John Huggins, Jacob Pincus, James Mc- 
Loflin, Charles Mulholland, Peter Wiemer, Jackson Joiner, 
Thomas Welch, Brown Dick, Preston West, and last but by 
no means least Mr. James Row, as I know no man of his 



I07 

experience who has superior talents in his business in any 
country im the f^hjbe, diligent, saj^acious and incorruptible — 
in fact, he is the brightest pebble on the beach; Thomas 
Sayers, Jr., a natural son of the once famous English j)ugilist 
of the same name and o( John C. Ileenan light fame; Col. 
David McDaniel of 1 larry JJasit, Katie Pease, Springbock 
fame; the noted John Harper, breeder and owner of 'i'en- 
broke and Longfellow; the late Jackson Minor, who trained 
the great horse Kentucky for the late Mr. August Belmont, 
Sr. ; Mr. Charles Littlcficld, who rode Kentucky in his races 
and trained the great Preakness, Monarkist, Mate, llegara, 
Brigand and others; that gentle best of fellows, Henry Avis, 
of the firm of Avis Si. Mulky, of Kansas City, Missouri ; John 
Morris, who trained for Mr. George Long, of Louisville, 
Kentucky, than whom there is no cleverer a gentleman; Mr. 
Robert Tucker, who trained many good horses for the late 
Col. Sam Brown, of l^ittsburgh, l*a.; Mr. Green B. Morris, 
who is in a class by himself ; Mr. Wm. Scully, late of Ken- 
tucky, but now of Sheepshead Bay, Coney Island ; Mr. Jc)hn 
Lowe, of Sheepshead Bay, Coney Island; Mr. II. R. Brandt, 
who trains for Mr. Barney Schreiber. 



CHAPTER XVI. 
The Greatest Plungers. 

Ever since there has been betting in the world there 
have been plungers, as the outside world calls them — men 
who were not afraid to take a chance and bet their money. 
A peculiarity of the matter is that the majority of them have 
been gentlemen, and there was scarcely a one who did not 
have a first-class education. Of course, there are excep- 
tions, but they were few and far between. 

Pre-emiment among them was the late Col. W. R. John- 
son. He was a man who stood among his fellows as a tall 
blade of grass in a barren field. There was not a man who 
ever met him but was convinced of the superiority of his 
worth. He came of one of the best families in the South, 
was always noted for his sterling probity, and the whole 
Southern and Northern world worshiped at his shrine. 

Suave of manner, an amusing entertainer, gentle of 
deportment, ready to resent an insult, and a man of the old 
school, where every man's rights must be respected, he stood 
the highest among the high and mighty of his day. There 
is no turfman of the present day but will take off his hat to 
the memory of such a man. 

Yet Col. Johnson was one of the greatest plungers of his 
time, and, by the way, there has been no man up to this date 
who has excelled him in those qualities which go to make 
up a plunger. He sometimes wagered as much as $75,000 
on a single race, and whether he won or whether he lost it 
was not perceptible in his manner. There are few such men 
in the world, and it has been often said of him that " nature 
broke the mold." Born in Virginia, he inherited all that 
rich strain of Southern blood that believes in giving to every 
man his rights and exacting from every man his own meed. 
It was Col. Johnson who made all the great matches of the 
ancient times, and it was his active mind that brought about 
the contests between the North and South, where for the 
most part the natives of his own section were successiul. 



I09 

It has been said that in the stable of Col. Johnson there 
was not a horse but had a claim to distinction. In any event, 
he matched them with the greatest success for many years, 
and the Northern people nearly always suffered by the 
contests. 

A plunger must be a bundle of nerves and filled with 
discrimination to the utmost degree. Col. Johnson was 
more than this. He was always the urbane gentleman 
under whatever circumstances he found himself. I have 
said this about one of the greatest turfmen the world ever 
produced for the reason that I knew him, knew his descend- 
ants, respected and loved them, and I feel that I can not say 
a word in this respect, paying a tribute to one of Nature's 
noblemen, that would be an untruth. 

James McLaughlin, of New Orleans, was one of the 
heaviest bettors in the South during his time. When he 
thought he had a chance he was always willing to take it. 
He wagered thousands on a single race, and whether he won 
or lost he never lost his temper. Then there was Charles 
Riley, from New York. He was as game a sport as ever 
opened a bottle of wine after making a big winning, and he 
was opening them all the time. Riley started South after 
every big meeting in the fall and spent his summers in the 
land where the cool and inviting palmetto holds out its 
inviting shade and where the soft winds of the Gulf Stream 
fan the fevered brow. 

One of the prettiest stories connected with plunging on 
the turf is the history of Charles, better known as " Riley,'' 
Grannan. He was born near Lexington, in the State of 
Kentucky, and received hut a meager education. When his 
father's farm was mortgaged, and he had tried in vain to 
secure employment in the county, he packed up his few 
belongings and went to Louisville, Grannan had been a 
never-do-well and he had learned no trade. His parents 
had permitted him to grow up around the stables and his 
mind was filled with the doings of horses instead of the 
doings of men. 

He cared no more for history — at least that part of it 
that relates to the human family — than does a wild animal 
about the Ten Commandments. He just grew up wild — 
like Topsy in the play of " Uncle Tom's Cabin.'' But 



everybody had a liking for " that Grannan boy," and there 
was no one to say a word against him. It was generally 
known that his family was in bad straits, but no one 
thought of " Riley," as he was called, as the one destined to 
bring the needed relief. This was not because he was a bad 
boy, for such was not the case. Charles Grannan was then 
and is to-day the soul of honor. 

But to return to the thread of the story. He left his 
little home in Lexington, and a fond mother probably shed 
many a tear over him as he went away, but he declared that 
when he returned to them he would bring them money and 
happiness in abundance. Some of the more pessimistic of 
the neighbors sneered and scoffed at the idea of " Riley " 
ever amounting to anything. He was a diamond in the 
rough, and they did not know it. 

Going to Louisville, the country boy who had spent the 
best part of his life about the stables of Lexington could 
find out little to do. What there was proved to be of such 
a character that he did not feel able to undertake it. By and 
by he was reduced to ten cents. This was the sole capital 
he had in his possession. Walking into the saloon of 
George Hess, a man who kept a place on Sixth street, be- 
tween Jefferson and Green, at the time, he called for a glass 
of beer and a cigar. These he paid for and he was then 
penniless. 

Leaning across the counter, he became engaged in 
conversation with Mr. Hess. 

" Do you ever bet on the races? " he asked Mr. Hess. 

" Yes, sometimes," was the reply. 

" Well," said the country lad with that confidence that 
characterizes men who have always dealt with honest men 
and suspect nobody, " I have come to this town to borrow 
$700 from some man who bets on the races." 

Mr. Hess smiled, and well he might, but he was interest- 
ed in the unsophisticated youth. 

"What is your scheme, lad?'' he asked. 

" I'm going to pick six winners for him to-morrow, and 
then he will trust me,'' was the confident reply. 

Mr. Hess looked at the truthful face, and he thought he 
would take a chance. Nine hundred and ninety-nine thou- 
sand men out of a million might have called and said the 



Ill 



same thin^, and if they had persisted Mr. Hess would have 
sent for a policeman. 

That night *' Riley " Grannan, the penniless Lexington 
country boy, slept with the saloon keeper. The next morn- 
ing they went around to the Turf Exchange, the pool room 
of the town, and saw the entries for the foreign races. Gran- 
nan made notes of them, and in the afternoon they went 
back. 

" What about this first race, boy ?'' asked Hess. 

" Play this one," said Grannan, " and put about $ioo on 
him." 

He pointed out a long shot. Hess hesitated, but he put 
a $io bill down. The odds were long and no one thought the 
animal had a chance. He won, and the capital of the 
saloon keeper was added materially to. He wanted the 
young fellow to go and get a drink with him on the strength 
of their victory, and this is what Grannan said, as told the 
writer by Mr. Hess himself: 

"I thank you, Mr. Hess, but a man who has any busi- 
ness to attend to has no business drinking. I need all the 
nerve I can muster, and drinking will injure it. As you 
have been accustomed to taking a drink occasionally, you do 
it, but I want nothing. I will figure out the next race for 
you." 

He went to work on the matter, and when they left the 
pool room that evening they had won six races and not 
lost a bet. 

The next day was a repetition of the first, Grannan re- 
fusing to take a cent of the winnings. 

" What do you want?'' said Hess finally. 

" I am after $700," said Grannan. 

" Here it is," said Hess. "What are you going to do 
with it?" 

*' Go to California and make a book on the races with 
it," said the Lexington rustic. 

" Go on," said Hess, knowing his money was in the 
hands of an honest man. 

Grannan went away and spent the winter. When he 
returned he divided $42,000 with Mr. Hess, making it share 
and share alike. Then he went back to the Bluegrass cap- 
ital, the place the Kentuckians are wont to say with pardon- 



112 



able pride is so close to heaven that they can sometimes hear 
the harps of the angels as they gather at the beautiful river 
and offer up peons of praise. 

By this time the old folks had moved from the old farm 
where so many of the Grannans had been born for ages past 
and were renting a small place not far away. " Riley," the 
never-do-well, bought the old farm back, and he went further 
and bought the place where the family was then living. 
Sending a man to the house ahead of him to tell them the 
farm had been sold, he waited to give his parents a joyful 
surprise. The man told the old couple the farm had been 
sold and that the new owner wanted immediate possession. 
Of course, Mr. Grannan, Sr., and his estimable wife were 
plunged in the depths of despair. 

" By the way,'' said the messenger, " here is the new 
owner. " 

And then the black sheep walked in. Of course there was 
an affecting scene, and when the deeds giving her the prop- 
erty were placed in the hands of Mrs. Grannan her joy knew 
no bounds. It would be sacrilege to describe such a scene, 
but I mention the incident to show you that a man may be 
a gentleman at heart and poor in purse. 

Afterward Grannan lost and won probably $2,000,000. 
Then his health failed him, for he was never stout, and he 
went to Europe There he lost all the money at Monte 
Carlo that he had made on the block in this country, and 
once more he was forced to return to America. Now he is 
said to have amassed a competency and is in the East en- 
deavoring to get well and once more show the turfmen 
who laid the rail. Grannan is the man who while on the 
block probably took the largest bet that has been recorded 
in modern times. It was during the celebrated race between 
Domino and Henry of Navarre. 

" I wish to place a bet on Henry of Navarre/' said 
Michael Dwyer. 

"Very well, sir; you are on," said the suave little Gran- 
nan. "How much?'' 

"About $21,000," was Dwyer's response. 

" Make out this ticket," said Grannan to his sheet writer. 
" Any more of the same kind, Mr. Dwyer?" he asked. 



"3 

" That's enough," was Dvvyer's response, and ever since 
that time Dwyer has had the greatest respect for the nervy 
little Kentucky boy who wears no mustache and does not 
look to be out of his teens. 

Of course, every one has heard of the famous Dwyer 
Brothers and of their almost phenomenal success upon the 
American turf. There is hardly a schoolboy who will not 
recognize the name. They have always been noted for their 
gameness and judgment. Mike Dwyer has few equals on 
the race tracks to-day who are judges of speed and condition. 
He has made and lost several colossal fortunes, and he is 
still alive and he may win and lose many more. 

But it may be interesting in this connection to mention 
how the famous Pittsburg Phil got his start. The story 
was told me by the man who devised the scheme, and I have 
every reason to believe it to be true. 

Pittsburg Phil was only a poor cigarmaker who made 
an occasional bet. He formed the acquaintance of John B. 
Hill and " Pinky " Botay at Monmouth Park. Hill was the 
genius of the trio, and he informed the two others that he 
believed he had a system that would beat the races and beat 
them all the time. The others were ready to listen, but they 
had but very little money. Then Hill unfolded to them his 
plan. He went on to explain that they should watch every 
race for a week and get a line on the horses. One was to 
go to the half, another to the three-quarters and the third 
was to remain at the wire. They were to watch all the horses 
carefully and see whether they had gotten good starts, been 
interfered with, and what was the matter with them that 
they did not win. 

Several days of this kind of work showed them that 
there was one horse that was superior to any of his com- 
pany, but he had always met with accidents and had never 
had a chance. They waited, held a conference with the boy 
who was going to ride him, gave him some advice, and then 
they invested all their capital on his chances. He was a long 
shot and he won handily. This gave the three celebrated 
plungers their starts in life. Pittsburg Phil and Botay have 
nearly all they made, but Hill has dissipated his money, and 
he said once that he doubted if either of the other two would 
be willing to assist him if he was in the direst want. Yet 



114 

this is the man who furnished the brains originally for the 
enterprise. 

I might go on and mention a half hundred men who are 
noted for their nerve on the turf, but these will probably 
suffice. I ought not to close, however, without saying 
something concerning my old friends Dick Roche and Bob 
Pate. In the whole country there are probably not two 
gamer men than these. They are ready to hazard their last 
dollar on any kind of a proposition and are gentlemen of 
the old school. When they cash in their last stacks to the 
Grim Banker, I want to be able to write on the scrolls for 
them : 

" Here lie two honest men." 



CHAPTER XVIL 
Waning: of the Gray. 

The decline of the gray horse on the race track is 
worthy of some attention, for it forcibly impresses one who 
considers such things. There was a time when the gray 
animal was a mighty power on the race track, but that time 
is passed, and the pale-hued equine is noted not simply for 
his scarcity. 

Once they were the kings and queens of the turf, and 
once they pulled down the greatest purses and stakes. 
Slowly the decline began, and the stock gradually laded 
away. 

Among the earliest of the gray ones was Gray Diomed, 
a great racer and sire. His fame was widespread and he 
distanced most of the horses of his day. It was considered 
very desirable to mate a mare to this stallion, and his get 
invariably proved winners. 

Next might be named the famous mare Andrewetta, 
who beat the celebrated Boston on the Broad Rock track 
and made the best time of the day. Her performance was 
looked upon as nothing short of marvelous. 

Then came Gamma, a Tennessee-bred mare, who was 
very fast and beat many good horses at from three to four 
miles. 

Gray Eagle was in the class of this color, and his fame 
was spread from the Canadas to the Gulf. He it was who 
took the measure of many great ones and was the pride of 
old Kentucky. 

Gray Medoc, by old Medoc, was celebrated for his vic- 
tory over Altof and the other notables of his time. He got 
nothing very noted in the stud, but some of his produce 
were fair race horses. 

A distinguished horse of his time was Gray Tyrant. 
He was one of the first horses owned by John Harper. In 
seven heats he was at length beaten by Rally, who was 
owned by John M. Clay. The race took place at Versailles 



ii6 

and is on record there as one of the notable racing events. 
The writer rode Rally at the time. 

Kite was bred by James K. Duke in Kentucky and won 
some good races. He was not a great horse, but he was a 
consistent performer. 

One-eyed Joe came from the green fields of Virginia 
and was bred by Col. James Tally. He was a winner at all 
distances and was regarded as a very formidable animal. 

Little Arthur was by Glencoe and was owned in Ten- 
nessee by Bill Cheatham. He was a fair race horse, but did 
nothing particular in the stud. 

One of the great ones was Lightning, a celebrated horse 
belonging to Boyden & Chinn. He was a sire of note. 

His full brother, Thunder, did some good work on the 
track and left behind him a scant progeny. 

Two other full brothers were Lodestone and Thunder, 
who did well and made quite a reputation, but they got 
nothing in particular. 

Gray Fannie was celebrated as a dam, but she was not 
especially fast. 

Bill Bass was owned by Gen. Price, of Missouri, and 
was just a fairly good animal. 

Gabriel was very fast at one and one-quarter miles and 
could show his heels to some of the speediest racers there 
were on any track. He had more sense, according to horse- 
men, than any other animal that ever stepped upon a track. 
It is claimed that he always watched to get the best of the 
start at the post and had his eyes fixed on the others, look- 
ing for the slightest attempt to break. Then he knew and 
realized to the fullest extent just what was expected of him. 
It was his desire to always come first under the wire, and he 
might be depended upon from start to finish to do his level 
best. 

Sallie Ward, Jr., was a gray mare owned by Richard 
Ten Broeck. She was taken into Canada, and the writer 
rode her in some of the best races there. There were few 
who could beat her when she was extended. This mare won 
thousands of dollars for her owner and was considered one 
of the best of her time. 

Reel was one of the grandest of the grays. She was a 
mare that could go all distances, and there were few that 



117 

could even get within striking distance of her. She left the 
track, where she had made herself famous by her wonderful 
bursts of speed, and went into the stud. There she produced 
some of the grandest performers that the world has ever 
known. 

Ann Dunn, her daughter, bade fair to become a wonder ; 
but she met with an accident when she was three years old 
that caused her death. At New Orleans she had won the first 
heat, when she slipped and fell, breaking both her forelegs. 
Her owner was forced to kill her, and when he did so he 
lost a valuable property, for there was every reason to be- 
lieve that she would become as fast, or nearly so, as her 
famous dam. 

Jig was owned by Col. Kirkman in Alabama, and was a 
fair performer and worthy of having in any man's string. 

Lilac was not a very fast mare, but she was a good pro- 
ducer. In the early part of her career she slipped on the ice 
and so severely injured herself that she never fully recov- 
ered. But for this unfortunate accident she might have 
made her mark as a performer. Her hind quarters were 
partially paralyzed. 

Gray Cloud was bred by Gen. Rowett, of Illinois, and 
was afterward purchased by Noah Armstrong, who ran him 
with success, winning a number of stakes. He liked the 
mud and rarely lost when the going was to his liking. Much 
might be said on this particular subject regarding this cele- 
brated horse, but Gray Cloud was a good one and was able 
to impress the beholder wherever he was raced. 

Little Blue was bred and owned by John Harper. 
From one to three miles he was especially good and won 
many races for his owner, who prized him very highly for 
his consistency. 

Josh was bred in Kentucky by Webb Ross and won 
many races, being a full brother to Bob Schnell, or the 
Dutchman, who was a celebrated three-year-old. 

Sarah Miller was a famous mare of her time, and she 
won a great many rich stakes and purses. 

Falcon was a full sister to Gray Eagle and was the great 
grandam of the mighty Hanover. She did little on the 
track, but was distinguished for her progeny. 



ii8 

Ophelia was the dam of Falcon and Gray Eagle and but 
little is known of what she did on the track as a performer. 
Her claim to distinction lies in her produce, which was 
numerous. 

Grisette traces back to the Dance family, and produced 
some good animals. She was only a fair performer. 

The majority of the grays that have been trained proved 
good horses, and there are few of the color that have proved 
to be total failures. They are noted for their consistency as 
performers and for their remarkable speed and endurance. 
There has hardly been one of them that could not go any 
distance and always be depended upon to do his or her level 
best. 

The general opinion is that this gray color was obtained 
from early Arabian crosses, and on the desert it was much 
sought after by the Bedouins, who needed speed more than 
anything else in their marauding trips across the arid plains. 
A great many of the Arabs were nearly milk-white, with 
black spots. Fysall, the last importation by Keene Richards, 
of Georgetown, K}'., came from Arabia and was as white as 
snow, with a few black spots cropping out here and there. 
He was never trained and came here as a stallion for the 
brood farm. It is claimed for this animal that he was the 
purest of all the Arabs, but he did not succeed to any extent. 
Mr. Richards spent five years in Arabia learning the Ara- 
bian language, so as to be able to understand and talk with 
the sheiks of the desert, in order to get the very best of the 
animals they had. The natives were so enraged that, when 
he started to leave with his purchases, they followed him 
across the desert and made him give up some of the horses 
he had bought. 

The most probable cause for the decline of the gray 
horse is the breeding and intermixing with the more pre- 
dominant colors, such as browns, bays and blacks. Thus the 
further that we breed away from the Arab the further we 
go toward extinguishing this color. Now and then one 
crops out that bears the pale hue, but they are few and far 
between, and the tendency is toward the ending of this color 
as race horses. I do not mean by this that there are no gray 
horses amountmg to anything on the turf, but only seek to 
show that he is not so numerous as he was at one time 



119 

Every year there is a fair gray horse or mare on the turf, 
and some of them have won purses in latter days. But there 
have been no stake horses of any consequence for many 
years. 

It is possible, but not probable, that a return to this con- 
sistent color will ever be made. However, it may be a cen- 
tury before the color is entirely stamped out. Now it seems 
that the tendency is in this direction. 

The Arabs brought here by Keene Richards all proved 
failures, although they were bred to such mares by imp. 
Glencoe as Blonde, Miss Duke, Peytona. From the latter 
probably came the best of the get, Transylvania, who ran 
one mile in 1:48 and could not repeat this performance. 
They were also crossed to the very best Wagner and 
Medoc mares, who were succeeding to the native stallions. 
The famous Lux was bred to one of them and produced a 
little, scrawny fellow who could do nothing whatever. 

Perhaps the greatest of all the grays was the famous 
gray mare Ariel, by American Eclipse, who lost the $20,000 
match (three-mile heats) to Flirtilla, Jr., by Sir Archie, over 
the Union Course, Long Island, this being one of the 
many famous matches made and run between the North 
and the South. The latter section being victorious in this 
contest, people from every State in the Union traveled, 
some of them for weeks, on horseback to be present at this 
great race, where thousands of dollars changed hands 
through the admirers of these two champion mares on the 
result of this great match. Whilst they did not think 
Ariel's condition on this occasion was just what it should 
have been — and she got beat — yet this great mare, during 
the time she was on the track, met and defeated nearly 
every horse, mare or gelding of any repute, and at all 
distances. She traveled from Long Island to the Gulf and 
back by land, more than four thousand miles. Frequently, 
during this trip, at night, when she would be stopped at 
some point to rest, after a hard, irksome day's travel, she 
would often be without shelter of any kind, save perhaps 
the buff of a tree on the roadside and the canopy of the 
heavens. And now, with all of our grand improvements, 
both in horses and in all racing matters, which no sane per- 
son will dispute, yet the author has to pause and think 



I20 



whether or not we, in this great age of progress in turf 
matters, have not lost some of the great hardihood, if not 
other valuable property, that the best horses of those days 
had. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 
Tales of the Turf. 

At this juncture several little anecdotes of incidents that 
have come under my observation on the turf occur to me. 
I know a turfman is always ready to listen to anything that 
is entertaining or amusing concerning a horse and racing. 

It happened after the war, say about 1866, at Lexington 
The spring races had begun and there was a gray and a sor. 
rel in a race. I have forgotton their names now, for they 
were of mediocre ability and have never been heard of since. 
Therefore, their names are of no importance. The gray was 
the favorite and everybody thought he had only to step 
over the track and claim the purse. Several bookmakers 
were at the side of the track, taking bets, and were getting 
wagers on all the horses in the race except the sorrel. 

Col. John Morrison, a prominent gentlaman of St. Louis 
at the present time and one of the cleverest fellows on earth, 
whom everybody knows and everybody likes, was then but 
a youth, but he was born in old Kentucky and naturally 
possessed a love for the thoroughbred. He stood at the ring- 
side, watching the bets being put down on the gray. Sud- 
denly an inspiration struck him, and, walking up to the lead- 
ing bookmaker, he said : 

" What odds will you give on the sorrel?" 

" I'll make it a hundred to one sonny," said the book- 
maker, patronizingly. " How much do you want ? " 

" Ten dollars worth," said Col. Morrison, not to be 
bluffed. 

The horses were sent to the post, and something sud- 
denly went wrong with the gray. He had the race at his 
mercy and could have won easily over the field had he been 
in fix. His withdrawal left the bets as they were, and the 
start was made. The sorrel was full of speed and no one 
knew it. " He just stepped out and made the others trail 
under the wire behind him. Col. Morrison collected $1,000 
from the bookmaker, and as he handed it out the latter said : 

" Say, how did you know that sorrel was going to win ?" 



" Oh, I know everything," was the suave response, and 
the lad went away, leaving the bookmaker greatly mystified. 
He always believed afterward that a job had been fixed up 
on him. 

In this connection another little incident comes to me 
that shows the quick repartee of the old-time Southern negro 
and at the same time his respectfulness. There was a white 
man at the track whom a negro had offended in some wa3\ 
It was nothing serious and there was really no reason for 
the man's display of violent anger when they met on the 
track. 

" I'm going to whip the life out of you," said the white 
man. preparing to make good his words. 

*' Boss,'' replied the negro, innocently," ef yous is gwine 
ter do hit please don't do it on de racetrack. Any whar else 
an' I won't say a word." 

" Why not on the race track ?" asked the man becom- 
ing interested in spite of himself. 

" Case, said the negro, " on de race track all men air 
ekul. Dat is, dar air two place whar day air ekul. One air 
on de turf an' de othah air under de turf. So you done see 
you cain't hit me heah wif de propah kerspec' ter youse'f." 

Of course, this caused a laugh, and the result was that 
the man forget his anger, handed the negro a dollar to buy 
himself some gin, and they parted the best of friends. 

I remember once standing in the grandstand at the 
Louisville course, beautiful Churchill Downs. There was 
an old negress not far away from me. It was a long time 
until the races were to begin, but I had gone there early in 
order to see some friends, and 1 became weary of waiting. 
So, as a matter of diversion, I turned my attention to the old 
woman. 

" Aunty, why are you out here?" I asked. " You are 
surely not going to bet away the money you have worked 
hard for all winter.'' 

" No, indeedy," was the pompous response. " I wucks 
too hard for my money ter gib hit ter er ole gamier. I air 
heah for de puppus er seein' my Mose, dat's whut." 

"Ah ! Your fellow." 

" No, hits not my fellar; hit's my boy, Mose.'' 

" Tell me about him," said I, becoming interested. 



123 

" Well, you done sees," she said, earnestly, " I alius 
knowed dat air boy war gwine ter make his mahk even when 
he war er little bow-legged thing in my ahms. So when he 
growed up to be 'bout ten yeahsoleer gemman comes crlong 
an' gets me ter let Mose learn ter ride race horses. I says 
all right an' I hain't seed de bressed child sense. 

" He's been erway in de East or somewhar wif his 
marstah, an' dat boy's been learning ter ride. Yistiddy I 
heard dat de stable war come back ter Loosville an' a cullud 
gemman whut I knows tells me Mose air air gwine ter ride one 
er de hosses in de race. De gemman says dat dis air de fust 
time dat Mose evah sot on a hoss in er race an' I wants ter 
see dat air boy come in ahead. De same culled gemman tells 
me dat Mose air on er winnah an' dat he am a very long 
shot." 

" What stable is it?" I asked, and she informed me of 
the name of the owner. I then looked on the program and 
found the very horse in question. Just for luck I placed a 
small bet on the horse afterward, and then went over to 
where the old woman stood leaning against the railing of the 
grandstand. I told her when the horses came to the post 
and pointed out the one on which Mose sat. She was de- 
lighted and was trembling all over as she watched him, as 
proud of that little bunch of ink as any mother in the land. 
Finally, the start was made and she became anxious for him 
to win. 

I stood near and I heard her shout from time to time as 
Mose was leading. At the three-quarter she gave a groan of 
despair as another horse moved up from the rear and joined 
the leader. She thought it was all over. Down the stretch 
the two horses sped neck and neck. The old woman was 
almost frantic. She waved her hands in the air and shouted 
at the top of her voice: " Come on, you Mose ; don't you see 
yoah mammy's watchin' you ? '' 

Within twenty yards of the wire Mose forged ahead and 
won by a neck, but the old woman did not at once under- 
stand which had won, and she asked me. When I told her 
she let out a yell that shook the rafters. Afterward I 
walked down to the scale room, where the boy was, and got 
him and brought him up to his mother. It was truly an af- 
fecting sight to see her fondle the boy who had just won that 



124 

race. It would have broken her heart had he lost, and they 
mingled their tears in front of 6,000 people. 

A gentleman whose ancestors were in the procession 
that crossed the Red Sea in the days of Pharoah and Moses 
is among my acquaintances. He keeps a clothing store, but 
he has sporting blood in him, and there was never a day one 
season that he did not come to me and whisper in my ear : 
" Haf you anyding goot, mine dear frient? " I gave him two 
or three tips that I thought well of and he played them and 
won. But after a time it became monotonous to have him 
haul me out of crowds where I was talking with some gentle- 
men and ask the same question. By this time it had got so 
that he came to me after every race and wanted informa- 
tion. He would often drag me off into dark places, under 
the steps or in the recesses. Once he pulled a sandwich out 
of his pocket and said suavely: 

" Meester Davis, loog whad I have got for you. Vat er 
nice santwich. Gif me some tips." 

This was the last straw. I resolved to break him then 
and there and give him such a jolt that he would never come 
near a race track again. Looking over my program, I picked 
out a horse that 1 knew would figure about 200 to i. I was 
sure he did not have the slightest chance to win, for the 
owner had told me he had been sick and that he was just 
putting him in the race for work — that he could not win. 

"Morris," said I, "here is a good one, but I want you 
to swear that you will not give it to any one else, because we 
are going to make one of the grandest killings of the year 
with him. It will make us all rich." 

He swore by the weeping Rachel and Joseph's coat of 
many colors that he would allow himself to be cut into pieces 
by wild Indians sooner than divulge the secret. 

" Play this horse,'' I whispered, pointing to the name of 
the no-account, " and put every cent you can beg, borrow or 
steal on him. Soak something, Morris. You must have a 
good, big bet down on him." 

He thanked me and went away to hustle for money. He 
saw every friend he had and borrowed everything he could 
possibly get. Then he had quite a roll on him, all of which 
he wagered on my selection. 



125 

I had down a good bet on the favorite, on whom there 
really was a tip, and sat waiting for the race to be run. The 
favorite was beaten a head. As I sat there, disgusted, I felt 
a gentle tap on my shoulder and the well-known voice of 
my "Old Man of the Sea" said suavely: 

"Meester Davis, how can I thank you? Vill you come 
down and have a beer ?" He won so easy, too." 

Words fail to actually interpret the thoughts that surged 
through my brain. 



CHAPTER XIX. 
Men I Have Met, 

During the more than half a century that I have spent 
on the turf I have met many of the most distinguished men 
from all sections of the country. They came from the frozen 
and sterile North, from the golden hills of the West, the 
magnolia-scented groves of the South and from the aristo- 
cratic East. I have been in close connection with the most 
of those of the present time and was intimately acquainted 
with the royalty of turfdom in the olden days. 

Beginning away back in the early part of another 
century, of course I have seen the friends of my boyhood 
slip silently away into the realms of eternity as flowers bloom 
and wither. I have seen their sons grow to manhood and 
then in turn sink into the arms of the grim reaper under the 
fell hand of disease or the weight of years. Father Time 
does not touch us all with the same harshness. With me he 
has been gentle indeed. Eighty times has my natal day 
passed, and now at this writing I am able to walk almost 
any distance. I could mount a yearling and break him just 
as easily now as I could when I was a boy. 

But others whom I loved were not as favored as " the 
old veteran." The flowers blossom on their graves, but in 
my heart their memory is just as dearly cherished as it was 
in the olden days when I walked hand in hand with them in 
earthly paths. 

Probably the grandest man I ever knew was Col. W. R. 
Johnson, sometimes called " the Napoleon of the American 
turf," because of his colossal turf ventures, his boldness in 
making matches between the celebarted horses of his time, 
and through it all characterized by his sterling integrity and 
gentleness of deportment. There was perhaps no man in the 
whole South and West that stood as high socially and in a 
business way. His word was worth more than the bond of 
most men. Everybody with whom he came in contact loved 
him and had a kind word to say for him. He was a man 
among men, and towered as a giant amid a race of giants, for 
the men of the South were all big men in heart. 



127 

He owned such horses as Henry, Boston and Flirtilla 
besides many other celebrities. No man who was ever on 
the continent ever owned half so many rarely good ones, and 
they took part in all the great races. There was never a 
time that his horses were not earning money for him and 
defying the other notables of the day. Col. Johnson 
breathed his last at the St. Charles Hotel in New Orleans 
during the winter of 1849. 

John and Robert Stephens were gentlemen of the old 
school and owned many great horses. Their home was on 
the Jersey Heights in New Jersey. Like Col. Johnson, they 
were educated and refined gentlemen, and they were also 
great match makers. When they thought they had a horse 
in their stable that was good enough to run against some 
other one they did not hesitate to match him against the 
other. The celebrated Eclipse was in their string when he 
beat Henry, and they must have won thousands of dollars 
on the victory aside from the stakes of the match. 

In a business way the fame of these gentlemen was wide- 
spread, and they numbered their friends by the thousands in 
all parts of the country. In the North, South, East and 
West the name of Stephens was held in the greatest respect 
and everybody had expressions of admiration for their 
daring as turfmen and their gracefulness as gentlemen. The 
soul of honor, they had but to tell a man they would take his 
bet for any amount, and the latter knew that if he won the 
money would be paid at any time he demanded it. 

Then there was Major Thomas Doswell, whose home 
was at Hanover Junction, near where Henry Clay, the great 
commoner, was born. He was the owner of the celebrated 
Planet, Fannie Washington, Inspector, by Boston, Nat Pope, 
Sarah Washington, the dam of the most of the others, and 
many horses that reached the highest pinnacle of equine 
fame. I fancy I can see him yet galloping about the track 
on his little black horse, giving instructions to his rider at 
various points in the race. II he saw the jockey was making 
too much pace, he would tell him to slacken it, and if he was 
going too slow, he would instruct him to let out a wrap or 
two. In this way he helped the boy to ride the race, and 
often was the sole cause of a victory for his horses. 



He was a large planter, had a beautiful home and was 
elegant and refined in his manners. He was very wealthy, 
and there was not a man connected with the turf, in business, 
politics or in the social whirl but was glad and proud to be 
able to say that Major Doswell was his friend. When he 
died the turf lost a valuable adjunct, but behind him he left 
several sons and daughters, and they are all said to inherit 
the sterling traits that made the name of the father illustrious. 

A little incident relating to Major Doswell occurs to me. 
I had been introduced to him at a hotel in New York, and 
six years later I again saw him at the Mills House, Charles- 
ton, S. C. I was sitting talking to Jerome Edger, a trainer, 
and the Major was sitting alone not far away. 

" See that little old gentleman sitting there,'' I said to 
Edger. " That is the celebrated Major Doswell, who used 
to ride a little black horse around the track and make his 
jockey win races. He knows as much about racing as any 
man on the turf to-day.'' 

The little e3'^es of the Major twinkled, and, addressing 
me in a tone that was perfectly audible to all about the 
table, he said : 

" Young man, you must have been brought up in the 
old school or you would not have known about the little 
black horse." 

We became fast friends at once, and we would have 
taken a social drink but for the fact that the Major was not 
from Kentucky and did not believe that a little wine is good 
for the stomach's sake. 

Capt. John Belcher, who lived at the Fairfield race- 
track in Virginia, not far from Richmond, was also a cele- 
brated trainer and owner, and had many of the famous 
horses of his time in his care. He trained Boston for 
Col. Johnson, and the great son of Boston Red Eye. 
One-eyed Joe, Die Claperton, and a host of other distin- 
guished horses. He was a man of the highest standard of 
morals, the most loyal of men to his employers and a model 
example to a race track. He reared a family, was a kind 
and affectionate father, and had the confidence of everybody 
who knew him. His descendants still live in old Virginia, 
and they are among the most respected residents of the 
famous Old Dominion. In that State the name of John 



129 

Belcher will not soon be forg'otten, and loving hands still 
annually place flowers on his last resting place as a mark of 
esteem and, love for his memory. 

Col. David McDaniel was a native of Ireland and first 
turned up as a racing man in North Carolina. In his early 
days he was a large trader and made thousands of dollars 
in this way. He drifted into Richmond, Va., and made that 
place his home. He bought up large properties in Rich- 
mond and Broad Rock County, and when he died there 
years afterward he left a vast estate. On the track his fame 
was widespread. He owned such celebrities as Frank 
Allen, Tar River, Carolina, Harry Bassett, Joe Daniels, 
Hubbard, and Lida Stanhope. He trained the latter and 
owned an interest in the latter famous mare. Harry Bas- 
sett brought him the greatest fame, and he was known the 
world over as " the owner of Harry Bassett." He trained 
and owned the horse at the time he beat the celebrated 
Longfellow and trailed the banner of old Kentucky in the 
dust. 

While not a scholar and a man of the greatest sim- 
plicity, he was a shrewd tactician, a bold bettor, with the 
nerve of a lion, and a gentleman withal. He was generous 
almost to a fault, and no man ever applied to him for 
assistance in a worthy cause and went away empty handed. 
Many a tear was shed in Virginia when Death laid his icy 
hand on the silvered head of David McDaniel. 

David Branch was a gentleman of North Carolina of 
the highest social prestige and took a deep interest in the 
turf. He owned some of the good horses of his day and 
wielded a vast influence. Modest to a marked degree, he 
did not hold up his talents to the world and carefully 
avoided notoriety of any form. He was a leader in spite of 
this fact, and his advice was much sought after. 

Col. Wade Hampton was a princely gentleman of the 
olden time, and his home was at Millward, S. C, five miles 
back of Columbia. He was a wealthy planter and a large 
importer of horses. He imported Sovereign, Rowton, 
Emily and many others that do not occur to my mind at 
this moment. On the American turf he was a leader, and 
at once came to the front. He bred and owned Monarch, 
Fannie and Childe Harold, all of whom attained prominence 



130 

on the turf. But as a turfman he was admired by every 
one, for he did everything in his power to advance the 
interests of the turf. 

The great Henry Clay once said to me : " I have read 
of and known many great men, but I never in my life have 
met with and known such a princely gentleman." 

Col. Hampton had presented Henry Clay with sev- 
eral brood mares. Among them was the celebrated Mar- 
garet Woods, the best of all the Priam mares, both as a 
performer and a producer. Cassandra nor the Queen was 
her equal, and Mr. Clay certainly got a treasure. In fact, 
she was the dam of most of the great race horses bred and 
owned by John M. Clay. 

Col. Matt Singleton was born in South Carolina, in the 
Edgefield district, and was a most popular turfman of his 
day. He was deeply interested in the turf and imported 
Prima Donna and a dozen others. Hero, the sire of Jeff 
Davis, was also imported by him. Many of his mares were 
sent over the mountains to Kentucky by me, to be bred to 
Glencoe, Boston, Wagner and the celebrated stallions of Ken- 
tucky. Often he kept his mares there for two years and got 
two crops of colts. 

Another noted turfman of the time was Maj. Thomas G. 
Bacon, from the same place. He was a man possessed of 
the confidence of all the people of his State because of his 
probity. He had a large stable and bred and bought some 
of the best horses of the day. Among them was the cele- 
brated Nina, the dam of Planet, Exchequer and others. He 
was of a very quiet disposition, yet he was possessed of 
nerve of the highest order. An illustration of this was 
when he matched Nina againt Red Eye for $10,000 and lost 
by a head. She ought to have won the race, and everybody 
who witnessed the incident felt that such was the case. 
Although he had lost a great sum of money on the event, 
Major Bacon simply smiled and seemed to be not in the 
least disturbed. For many years he raced from South 
Carolina to New York and all over the South. Everybody 
liked him and he had a host of friends. It was said jokingly 
by the high rollers of the time that it was a pleasure to lose 
one's money to so polite a gentleman. He had a pleasant 
smile always on his face and never took an unfair advantage 



131 

of any one. He might always be depended upon as fair and 
honorable. 

Capt. Crowell, of Georgia, was known all over the 
United States as the owner of John Bascom and Gano, and 
was a man of great wealth. There probably never was in 
the whole turf history of Georgia a man who stood as high 
as Capt. Crowell. He matched Gano against Boston once 
for $10,000 a side. Two days before the time set for the 
race Gano broke down and Capt. Crowell was forced to 
pay forfeiture. 

On the day the race was to have been run Capt. Crow- 
ell and a number of gentlemen were sitting at dinner, and 
during a lapse in the conversation Capt. Crowell asked Col. 
W. R. Johnson what constituted the modern race horse. 

" Speed, sir," was the reply. 

"What else?" 

" More speed." 

" Then what other essential is there ?" 

" Still more speed," said Col. Johnson nonchalantly. 

Griff Edmondson, of Georgia, was a noted character of 
his day. He was always to be found on the race track and 
owned several horses. None of them was of especial note. 
He was a man of fine character. 

Robert Glover came from Augusta, Ga.. and was a con- 
stant follower of the turf. There was never a race of the 
early days that he did not attend. While he never owned a 
horse, he was so popular with the owners that two or three 
horses were named for him. In sporting matters he stood 
high, although he was more of a gambler than a turfman. 
Gentlemen cultivated him because of his fine qualities as an 
entertainer and his suavity of manner. He had an accurate 
knowledge of men and horses of the time and was a perfect 
encyclopedia on these subjects. His memory was something 
wonderful, and it attracted attention wherever he went. 

Judge John Hunter, of Alabama, was the owner of the 
celebrated mare Blonde, Mary Consul and a few others of 
prominence. It was he that went to Charleston and bought 
Highlander for $10,000 from Thomas Puryear. The horse 
had never lost a race up to that time. The purchase was 
made for the purpose of getting a representative of the State 
of Alabama in the State Stake at New Orleans. This race 



132 

was won by Lexington, who beat Highlander, Le Compte 
and Rube. Alabama almost went broke on the race. Judge 
Hunter was a distinguished jurist, a man of vast fortune, 
and reared a large family. Everybody held him in the high- 
est esteem, and when he passed away to the darkness of 
eternity both the turf and the State lost an eminent repre- 
sentative. 

Capt. William Williamson was born in Virginia and 
came of the old school. He was interested with Capt. Wm. 
Cottrell in the ownership of several great race horses. His 
chief claim to attention in the early days was that he was a 
member of a famous coterie of choice spirits who were the 
life of every race track. They were John York, William 
Gardner, Sam'l Hunter and Phil Cox. 

Jeff Wells came from Louisiana, and had a vast breeding 
establishment near Shreveport. He brought to the world 
the celebrated Reel, by imp. Glencoe, out of imp. Gallopade, 
by Caton. Reel was the best race mare at all distances in 
America at the time. She was one of the best producers 
also and gave to the turf Uncle Jeff, Le Compte, Prioress 
and Ann Dunn. Prioress went to the British Isles and was 
said to be the best race mare in the world by Admiral 
Rouse, who saw her lose by a head to Lifeboat in the Czar- 
witch, but made a dead heat in the same race for second 
place with El Akim. It was run off and Prioress was suc- 
cessful. Mr. Wells was a wealthy planter and took a deep 
interest in all matters pertaining to the turf. He had a host 
of friends and was intense in his loyalty to the South at all 
stages of its vicissitudes. 

Col. Adam L. Bingaman lived at Natchez, Miss., and 
was the scholar of his time in that vicinity. There was 
probably no more enthusiastic admirer of the turf than he. 
He had a large breeding establishment, and the famous 
Lexington was trained at his track for all his great races. 
For fifty years he was on the turf and his stables were always 
filled with the very best there was in the equine world. 
Ben Pryor was Bingaman's trainer. 

Col. William J. Minor was known everywhere as "the 
scholar of the turf," and lived at Natchez, Miss. He owned 
Brittania, by Muley, the sire of Margrave and Leviathan. 
Muley Molok was a full brother of Brittania. She was 



U3 

raced successfully in this country and was of great fame when 
she went to the stud, producing- Verifier, Voucher, Varona, 
La Variation and Van Dyke. There was probably no more 
extensive planter in the whole Mississippi Valley, and he 
was held in high esteem by every one. When he went to 
England to purchase Brittania he was entertained by many 
of the celebrated nobles of the day and was held in equally 
high esteem by the Britons. 

Major Le Compte was probably the greatest French 
turfman of his time, and until the Lorillards came he was 
an extensive planter of Louisiana and had a breeding estab- 
lishment at Shreveport. As a turfman of the first class of 
his day he was held in great respect everywhere. Such 
horses as Gallatin, Bob Snell, or the Dutchman, Telee, 
and Miss Riddlesworth were in his string and they were all 
recognized as celebrities of their time. Ad Small, who was Le 
Compte's trainer, was noted all over the South for his ability. 
He died at Saratoga, and I was one of the pall bearers at 
the funeral. 

Once Le Compte said to me of Colonel Minor's Veri- 
fier: "Mr. Davis, he can run as fast as the telegraph and 
stand driving like a wedge.'' He said it in broken French, 
but I do not feel equal to giving it just as he said it. 

Duncan F. Kenner, of Louisiana, was known as " the 
old Red Fox of the South." He always represented the 
South in all her turf matters, attending the conventions of 
the North and South, and always got the lion's share of the 
privileges. He was a man of great executive ability, and 
was the owner of Gray Medoc, Dart, Humming Bird, 
Whale, who was never beaten; Dolphin, Florian, full brother 
to Doubloon; Louis d'Or, Ha'penny, Roupee and hundreds 
of others too numerous to mention. Mr. Kenner was a 
noted planter and a leading man of his day. Before his 
death he became the manager of all the canal interests 
about New Orleans and was a man of vast enterprise. 
Kenner was sent to England to represent the interests of the 
Confederacy during the Civil War and did so with marked 
ability. 

Thomas Patterson was from Tennessee and rubbed 
Misfoot, a celebrated mare, the best of her day in America, 
when he was but a boy. Then he became a trainer and had 



J 34 

some wonderful horses in his care. He was certainly a 
great horseman, and it is no wonder that he became dis- 
tinguished on the turf. No man surpassed him in the art 
of feeding and galloping horses. His fame was widespread. 

Munck Fowler was a noted jockey from Tennessee. 
He rode many great horses and won many good races. 
He afterward became a trainer. 

William Cheatham was from Nashville and was noted 
as a gambler and a turfman. He owned some good horses, 
but died early in life. With all his wonderful luck it is 
said he died poor. 

Gen. W. C. Harding was from Nashville, Tenn., and 
owned the Hermitage breeding establishment. He was a 
representative turfman of his day, and bred, owned and 
sold some of the grand horses of the time. He was a man 
of refinement and was the soul of honor on all occasions. 

Judge Barry lived at Gallatin, Tenn., and was a turf- 
man of some note. He owned the great mare Parasina, 
Rosa Clack and many other good ones. He was a brother- 
in-law of General Jackson (Old Hickory), and no man knew 
more of the pedigrees of early days than he. Colonel 
Bruce dedicated his famous stud book to Judge Barry and 
held him in high esteem. Ran Barry, his son, owned 
Blacklock and was clerk of the court at Gallatin for many 
years. 

Bailey Payton was also a brother-in-law of Gen. An- 
drew Jackson and owned several great horses, but he 
devoted more attention to pohtics. He was a most lovable 
man and stood as high as any man in the State in the hearts 
of the people. 

Colonel Elliot, also from Gallatin, was a noted turfman, 
who owned a number of celebrated horses, and was a pro- 
moter of the interests of the turf at all times. 

Berry Williams, from Sumner County, Tenn., was a 
breeder widely known. He was popular and successful. 

Captain Franklin, also from Gallatin, bred and reared 
many good horses. 

Thomas and James Kirkman, from Alabama, were men 
of almost fabulous wealth in the early days, and one might 
travel half a day up the Alabama River without ceasing to 
pass their landed possessions. They owned miles of land. 



135 

The celebrated Peytona was in their stable. She beat Fash- 
ion, the ideal mare of the North, for $20,000 a side. They 
also owned Quadrille, Jig, Rory O'Moore and Topaz. On 
the American turf of their day they were among the fore- 
most men, and everybody who knew them held them in 
high esteem. Their trainer was Isaac Van Lear, a very 
able man. 

Vince Hunter, of Alabama, owned Red Eagle and a 
number of other horses. He was a polished gentleman 
and came from a most distinguished family. 

" Red '' Tom Watson, of Virginia, stood high on the 
turf and was noted for his sagacity in making matches. 
He owned vast tracts of land and was popular, 

"Red" Tom Watson, of Tennessee, was frequently 
designated as " the man of cunning." Some people called 
him " the early bird," because he was always up early in 
the morning watching the performances of other men's 
horses. His methods were most peculiar, but nothing 
unfair was especially found against him, and he was noted 
for his shrewdness. 

Ottaway P. Hare came from Petersburg, Va., and was 
a distinguished turfman. He had one of the clearest heads 
and the best judgment of any man on the turf. When he 
saw two horses running at the same meeting he could 
always lay his money accurately on the winner. He fig- 
ured it out by careful observation. Hare owned Andrew- 
etta, who beat Boston a heat at Broad Rock, together with 
many other distinguished horses. Bostona was in his string 
and added materially to his winnings. The people called 
him " the old rabbit," because he could take care of himself 
against any kind of talent. I regarded him as one of the 
finest men with whom I had ever come in contact. 

John Minor Botts was a statesman and turfman of Vir- 
ginia and was held in high esteem. He was the breeder 
of Financier, Revenue and Two Bits. He often acted as 
judge at the races and gave general satisfaction. 

W. R. Travers, of New York, was one of the most pop- 
ular men I ever knew, and he numbered his friends by the 
score in both the South and West. No gentleman from 
either section could land in New York that he did not try 
to locate him and make him his guest. As a wit he was 



136 

widely known. One little incident is told of him that comes 
to my mind in this connection. It is said that a friend met 
him in New York and said : 

" Mr. Travers, why is it that you stutter so much more 
here in New York than you did in Lexington, Ky. ? " 

" Bi-g-g-e-rt-t-to-w-n, " stammered Bill, as he was fa- 
miliarly known. 

He formerly owned some fine horses with John Hunter, 
of Hunter's Point, and gave a bonus to the great Travers 
Stakes at Saratoga. 

Gov. Odin Bowie, of Maryland, owned Catesby, Abdul 
Kadir, Viley, Australine and My Maryland. He was a man 
of universal popularity and was elected Governor of the 
State two terms. 

Frank Hall, of Maryland, was an ardent admirer of the 
horse and turf and bred many celebrated horses. His 
father was a turfman and he came of a noted race of turf- 
men, all of whom were noted for their sagacity in the train- 
ing and handling of horses. 

Wyndham VValden was a celebrity of Maryland as a 
trainer and became noted as a breeder. He was a son of 
George Walden, whose brother John rode Eclipse the first 
heat in the famous race with Henry. The horses he trained 
won in stakes and purses more than $1,000,000. He also 
owned Bowling Brook farm, in Maryland. 

George Lorillard was one of the most popular owners 
in the State of New York. Everybody loved him in the 
South and West. He was a big-hearted gentleman. He 
owned Sensation, Ferida, Aella and quite a number of others 
equally distinguished. Sensation was correctly named, for 
he never was beaten. His brother Pierre was one of the 
most enterprising and active turfmen of any age of the 
American turf. Lord Beresford was his partner in England, 
and no man who ever went to England was so popular with 
the British. It was he who took the great Parole, Iroquois 
and others to the land on which the sun is never said to set. 
They won all the great stakes and Iroquois won the St. 
Leger and Derby. Parole distinguished himself by winning 
the Metropolitan Handicap, beating Isonomy and other 
noted horses. 



^37 

Coming- to Kentucky, the country that has endeared 
itself to all turfmen the world over, I think I ought to say 
something of Henry Clay, who owned Yorkshire, the son 
of Nicholas, who was presented to him by Commodore 
Stockton as a mark of respect. While Henry Clay could 
not be consistently termed a turfman, through his son, John 
M. Clay, he has a claim to distinction on the turf, for it was 
he who induced the boy to go into the business of breeding. 
Once when the get of Yorkshire were being shown the 
great Commoner in the presence of the writer, who was the 
rider at the time, Mr. Clay said : 

" Gentlemen, with this great promise of the equine 
family before you, there is every chance of success. If you 
will take into consideration that your enterprise is greater 
than your bank accounts, and never underrate your enemy, 
you are bound to succeed," 

On the day following, Mr. Clay was about to start for 
the United States Senate and we were showing him the first 
of the get of the horse. He was, of course, interested and 
he desired to give us a parting word of advice. 

John M. Clay made his debut on the turf in 1847, ^^^ 
raced such great horses as Kentucky, Daniel Boone, Gilroy, 
Princeton, Magic, Coon the Bloody, Zampa, Maria Woods, 
Charley Woods, Star Davis, Skedaddle, Sly Boots, Buff 
and Blue and Victory. He was the genius of the Clay 
family, but he had no desire to distinghish himself. He 
died owning one of the best breeding establishments in the 
country. 

Dr. Edward Warfield lived at The Meadows, north of 
the Association Course in Lexington. He bred many high 
class horses, including Lexington, the blind hero ; Waxey, 
Alice Carneal, Berthune, Buford and many others. He was 
a man of wealth and all who knew him loved and respected 
him. There was never a better hearted or nobler man on 
the face of the earth than Dr. Warfield, and I feel that I can- 
not say too much concerning him. 

James Shy, of " Shy-won-a-heat fame," was born in 
Central Kentucky and lived to a ripe old age. He owned 
many fast horses and won some money. Among his horses 
were Lady Jackson, who was by Sumpter; Theatrice, who 
ran head and head with Jim Bell for seven-eighths of a mile 



138 

in 1:46, the fastest time then made in Kentucky; Robison, 
Ma)' Day, Slim Ccesar and Dallas. At the close of his 
career be became totally blind. For the last ten years of 
his life he always had a seat in the judi^es' stand as a compli- 
ment to the veteran turfman. Of course, he could not see 
and did not see what was going on; but he took a decided 
interest in everything pertaining to the turf, and everbody 
tried to do something that would assist in making him happy 
in a way. 

Major B. G. Thomas was one of the lights of Lexing- 
ton and one of the best informed and best liked men in all 
the great State of Kentucky. There are few people who 
have been more universally known. His first horse was 
Monsieur Bertrand, and his next Wandering Willie, trained 
by his servant, a negro named Mose, who used to ride Bob 
Bruce and Roberson. Lady Tavlor fell to him in the course 
of a sale, and she proved a wonderfully fast mare, although 
she was unfortunate. She produced Derby, by imp. Eclipse, 

After the close of the Civil War Major Thomas became 
engaged in racing and breeding, producing Hataf, Herzog, 
Highfiight, Hira, Hinvar, Domino the invincible, and many 
others of high class. With his brother Charlie he was re- 
ferred to as one of the graces of Kentucky, No one worthy 
asked him for a favor and failed to receive it. 

James A. Grinstead was born in Kentucky and lived at 
Lexington, where he lived all his life, dying there ten or 
twelve years ago. He was one of the finest gentlemen 
of all that grand section. About 1848 he began racing, and 
his first horse was Doubloon, with whom he won many 
stakes. Florian, Louis d'Or, Ducatoon, Dime, Lindora, a 
full brother to the latter ; Sherrod, Moidore and others. 

At the time Mr. Grinstead became engaged in turf 
matters he was clerk of the county court. He made money 
rapidly and became a banker. At this he also succeeded, 
and was at one time a man of great wealth, having mort- 
gages on many of the farms about Lexington, After the 
war he began to_ lose money and died with very little prop- 
erty, 

A. Keene Richards came from Kentucky, having been 
born at Georgetown and was educated at the University of 
Virginia, He owned several great Arabian sires, which he 



139 

imported direct from their native deserts. He was a man 
of great wealth, having inherited his father's money. 
Among the horses he owned was Mock Ladder, Fysall and 
others. He was a man of bold enterprise, and bred Co- 
lossus, Glicera, Black Rebel, and raced Betty Ward, together 
with a large number of others. 

Benjamin Keene was a doctor at Georgetown, Ky., and 
owned Dazzle, Kate Ward and others. He was a leading 
man of his day and was very popular. 

Warren Viley was born in Kentucky and owned 
Hamburg, Gapitola, the dam of King Alfonso ; Mary 
Churchill, Nannie B. and others. John R. Viley, his 
brother, bred and owned Goodwood, Myrtle, Glendower, 
Viley, Australinc and Altevela. Mr. Viley was a very 
popular gentleman and a successful business man. He was 
as consistent and true a friend as ever lived, and every one 
in speaking of him at the present time has a kind word to say. 
Junius R. Ward came from Scott County, Ky., and was 
one of the leading men of his time. He owned Sallie 
Hardin, John O'Gaunt, Alex. Churchill, Lexington, and was 
one of the biggest planters in the South. He stood high in 
all sections of the country socially. 

Gen. Abe Buford was born in Kentucky and made his 
home in Woodford County, near Versailles. As a breeder 
and turfman it is enough to say that he bred and owned 
Enquirer, but he had many other very distinguished horses. 
He lived at Bosque Bonita. W. S. Buford, his father, 
bred thousands of distinguished horses and sent them all 
over the western world. 

Ned Blackburn was known as " Uncle Ned." He 
lived at or near Midway and owned Blackburn's Whip. 
He stood the celebrated Boston and got many of the most 
noted horses up to to-day. He also stood many other 
splendid sires, including Grey Eagle. 

Robert Alexander was also from Kentucky and was 
sometimes called " Lord " Alexander, on account of his 
almost fabulous wealth. He was a quite, reserved gentle- 
man and made no pretensions. Everybody knew and liked 
him, and he was held in great respect by all who knew him. 
He had a large breeding establishment and bred exten- 
sively. Every year he sold a great many yearlings. 



I40 

Among the horses he owned was Lexington, for whom he 
gave $15,000. 

At that time Lexingon was blind, but Alexander de- 
clared at the time that he would sell one of Lexington's colts 
for more than he paid for the sire. Norfolk was foaled and 
he sold him for $15,001, insisting upon having the extra one 
dollar in order to make his boast good. Asteroid, Joe 
Daniels, Harry Bassett, Bay Dick, Bay Flower, Bayonet 
and Voxholl were also in his string. He was probably one 
of the greatest beneficiaries of the American turf that the 
world ever knew. 

James K. Duke was born in Kentucky and lived there 
all his life. He was the ancestor of the great Duke family 
of the present time. He was a distinguished breeder and 
turfman and was highly educated. In every respect he 
was a gentleman, and acted as judge in many of the great 
races in Kentucky. He owned Cherry Elliott, Tangent, 
Minstrel, Kite, Bonnie Laddie, Bonnie Lassie, Kefh, 
Creighton, Blonde, Maroon and other celebrities. 

Richard Ten Broeck came from New York, but his 
stock interests were all in Kentucky. He was the first 
man to take a full string of horses to England, and became 
one of the best known breeders and owners in Kentucky. 
This stable consisted of Prioress, Prior, Satellite and others. 

Felix G. Murphy was born at Bardstown and was fre- 
quentl)^ referred to as " the Chesterfield of the American 
turf,'' because of his graceful manners. He was associated 
with the firm of Hunter, Dooms & Murphy in his stock 
interests and owned many good horses. Motto, Fiat, 
Hunter's Lexington, Nannie Lewis, Sallie Lewis, Harper, 
Susan Bean, dam of Sensation, and others were in their 
stable. 

Joseph G. Boswell also came from Kentucky and owned 
Ludy, Ruffin, Gray Medoc, Bon Ton, Gabriel, Momentilla, 
Magenta, Doubloon, Florian, Miss Belle, Ha'penny, Mamona 
and others. He was one of the most successful breeders 
with the same number of mares that I ever knew. 

Robert HoUoway is an ambitious and representative 
turfman of Kentucky. He is not an extensive breeder, but 
he has always figured on the turf and has owned some high- 
class horses. He is an unusually quiet gentleman, and few 



141 

people ever knew that he owned the <^reat horses he was 
racinf^. Always a broad-f^au^e and ijublic spirited man, he 
bought any horse offered for sale without considering the 
cost. In Lexington now there is no man whose advice is 
more sought after and who stands higher among the peo- 
ple. Everybody likes him and he likes everybody. I want 
to write on his tombstone, vv^hen he is gathered to his fath- 
ers and his gentle soul has gone to its rest in the darkness 
of eternity : " Here lies a man who was beloved by all who 
knew him." He owned many good horses. 

Milton Young is one of the most distinguished men in 
all Kentucky. He owned the great Hanover and started 
out with Bootjack, Bancroft and others, and won nearly all 
the cups across the western country. Troubadour was bred 
and owned by Mr. Young, but he has bred hundreds of 
others that have acquired fame on the turf. He is one of 
the fairest and squarest breeders whom I have ever known. 
I am proud to call him my friend. There are hundreds of 
incidents that I could relate concerning his liberality, and 
when the Three Graces bow before him in the land beyond 
the sky Charity will take off her crown and bow politely 
to the prince of all Kentuckians. 

John E. Madden is now one of the representative turf- 
men of Kentucky. He owns the famous Hamburg JMace 
and has vast interests. It is said of Madden that he came 
to Lexington with scarcely anything, but by energy and en- 
terprise he forged to the front and has owned such notables 
as the mighty Hamburg and a host of others. vScarcely a 
year has passed recently that Madden has not been able to 
bring out a grand horse and sell him for a good price. Mr. 
Madden is of Irish parentage, although he came from Penn- 
sylvania, that good old Dutch State. He is a man of pow- 
erful physique, gentle in his manners when in a good humor, 
but a lion when aroused. Concerning his horses he is as 
reticent as the private cemetery of a deaf and dumb asylum, 
and he is said to give all his horses numbers, so that even 
the stable boys do not know the names of the horses they 
are exercising. But withal, Mr. Madden is a clever fellow, 
whom it is a sincere pleasure to meet. 

Price McGrath, known as the Prince of McGrathiana, 
was one of the men about Lexington who should not be 



142 

omitted. Everybody in the Blue Grass capital knew and 
respected him. He owned the famous Aristides, the winner 
of the first Kentucky Derby ; the invincible Tom Bowline, 
Calvin, Mary Ann and other noted horses, among which 
was Rhineodine and Endorser. He was noted for his wit 
and for the barbecues he gave every year. His hospitality 
made him famous. As a man of nerve he was never awed 
by the odds on his horses and bet his money without fear. 

Capt. Ben. Hutchison, of Missouri, was originally from 
Kentucky and was noted as a high-class gentleman. He 
owned Laclede, Derby, Annie Travis, Ruth, Lilac, Evange- 
line, Glendower and others. He had a large breeding estab- 
lishment for years in St. Louis County, and was both clever 
and highly respected. 

Joseph D. Lucas lives in St. Louis County, Mo., and is 
quite a noted breeder. He is a grand, good fellow and has 
his annual sales, during which time he has sold many fast 
ones. He has had remarkable success, and his colts are 
known from one end of the country to the other. 

Barney Schreiber also has his home in Missouri and is 
one of the most noted breeders in all the great State of 
Missouri. He owns many high-bred stallions, including 
Sain and Bannockburn, whose get are astonishing the 
country at the present time by their wonderful speed. Sain 
is one of the most grandly bred horses in all the world. Mr. 
Schreiber is a clever, honorable gentleman and has the re- 
spect of all who know him. He is not afraid to bet his 
money and is a progressive gentleman, whom everybody 
likes. 

James Patton was also from Missouri and bred many 
fine horses. The most celebrated of the horses that he bred 
was Ethel Gray. Mr. Patton was very popular with all 
who had the honor of his acquaintance. 

Dr. McAlester owns a breeding establishmeet at Co- 
lumbia, Mo., and is a noted breeder. He has several very 
fine stallions at his place, and they are every year distin- 
guishing themselves on the turf. He is a splendid gentle- 
man, and has a host of friends who respect him for his 
learning and his kind and gentle manners. 

James R. and Foxhall Keene, from New York, are 
father and son. Their fame as breeders and owners is wide- 



143 

spread. They owned Domino, Commando and several other 
stallions, together with some noted mares, among them Cap 
and Bells, the only American filly that ever won the Eng- 
lish Oaks. Their breeding establishment in Kentucky is 
one of the most replete with modern conveniences in the 
world. Among the celebrated turfmen of to-day there are 
no men who stand higher. They are respected for their 
probity and enterprise. 

William C. Whitney was from New York, but had vast 
breeding interests in the heart of the Blue Grass section of 
Kentucky. There was no man of modern times who went 
into racing on such a colossal scale. It was his ambition to 
gather together, not merely the greatest racing stable, but 
the best stud in all the world. In both he succeeded, but 
unfortunately death came to him just as prospects for the 
realization of his greatest hopes were brightest. 

Gen. William H. Jackson, one of the most distinguished 
breeders on the American turf to-day, owned the famous Bell 
Meade, at Nashville, Tenn., where he yearly turned out many 
of the great horses that are to be seen on the turf. He made 
Belle Meade one of most beautiful places in the world. 

The late Theodore Winter's greatest claim to distinc- 
tion as breeder was by being the owner of so good a brood 
mare as Marion, who threw nothing but good ones from 
any horse they bred her to every crack. She produced 
several of the best horses ever raised West of the Ohio 
river and most of them were by a second Lexington horse 
at that. She was one of the best of brood mares, though 
rather lowly bred. 

Lucky Baldwin has made quite a success in breeding 
of thoroughbreds. He has won several Derbies with horses 
of his own breeding; for instance. Silver Cloud and Volun- 
tary both won the American Derby. Rael Santinita, Gano 
and others, all good winners, are to his credit and all were 
bred and reared by him at his ranch near Los Angeles, 
California. 

Mr. James C. Hagin is of world wide renown for hav- 
ing the largest breeding plant of thoroughbreds of any man 
in the world to date and is equally famous for the great 
number of very high class horses he has bred, reared and 
sold and dispersed to every part of the land through the 
medium of his annual sales. 



144 

Col. Saunders D. Bruce, of New York, was born in 
Kentucky and was one of the best informed men on the 
turf. He owned several good horses and attached himself 
vitall}^ to the interests of the American turf by the publica- 
tion of his famous stud book, now owned and continued by 
the Jockey Club. He was descended from one of the purest 
lines of Scots, tracing back to Robert Bruce. A congenial 
spirit at all times, clever to almost a fault, highly educated 
and refined, his company always was much sought after. I 
regarded him as one of the most estimable gentlemen I 
ever met. Born on the same street where he was born 
and at about the same time, I had an excellent opportunity 
to judge his character. We played and romped together 
as boys, and 1 hope when I am called away we may be 
reunited and sit on the banks of the beautiful river and 
talk over old times far into the depths of eternity. 

Julius Fleischmann, of Cincinnati, bade fair at one time 
to become one of the celebrities of the turf. He is a man 
of wealth and once owned the famous Halma, afterward 
purchased by W. K. Vanderbilt and placed at the head of 
his stud in France, and now one of the distinguished horses 
doing public duty in the State of New York. 

The Messrs. Churchill, of Churchill Downs, Louisville, 
fame, John and Henry, left behind them a name that will 
never be forgotten not only in the dark and bloody ground 
but all over the United States. They owned some of the 
finest horses that ever placed their feet on the bronzed 
circle of a race track. Among them might be mentioned 
Sir Joseph Hawley, Belle of the Highlands, Little Ruffin, 
Ben d'Or, Loftin, Powhattan, Adrain and Miss Bowler, 
They were gentlemen of the old school and stood in the 
highest rank. Both were men of refinement and had the 
confidence of all who knew them at all times in all mat- 
ters in which they were in any way connected. They are 
descended from Gen. George Rogers Clark, the famous 
Indian fighter, and the family is one of the best there is in 
the United States. 

Col. M. Lewis Clark was probably one of the finest gen- 
tlemen connected in any way with the American turf. Al- 
ways the superb Beau Brummel of his time, he was grace- 
ful in his manners, dressed in the latest style, he had a host 



145 

of admirers, and there was no race course but was glad to 
secure his service as presiding judge. For years he offici- 
ated at Churchill Downs, at Louisville, and his decisions 
invariably gave satisfaction to all concerned. He was highly 
educated and could converse entertainingly on all subjects. 
Col. James J. O'Fallon, of St. Louis, Mo., was born in that 
city and spent the greater part of his life there. He is a 
scholar of the old school, whom it is a pleasure to know. 
Col. John O'Fallon, the founder of the great O'Fallon fam- 
ily in the West, was his father, and a man who was of un- 
bounded popularity. Col. James O'Fallon was a valuable 
acquisition to the American turf, and while his racing career 
was not a lengthly one it was brilliant to a marked extent, 
for he won the most of the great stakes for which he con- 
tended. He owned Pat Maloy, Plantaganet, Altevela, Sun- 
down, The Banshee, Harry O'Fallon (named for his son), 
Kate Ward and others. In his manners he is as gentle as a 
lady, and refinement characterizes his every action. A 
friend he never forgets and his purse is always open to his 
friends or any one in need. I cannot pay a high-toned^ emi- 
nent Missourian a higher compliment. 

Hiram and Horace Argo are two Tennesseeans, who 
have achieved distinction on the turf and in business and 
turf and political life. They owned White Nose, a horse 
of royal breeding, who raced and won hundreds of races. 
Finally he died as a buggy horse in Nashville, but his last 
days were spent in the quietude which he had so richly 
earned. 

Bryan Obear, of Missouri, is one of the turfmen of St. 
Louis whom every one feels better to meet and know. He 
was the importer of George Frederick, and Bondholder and 
Patroclus were among his latest holdings. Some of his 
mares were the best bred of their day. Silverdale was once 
his property and afterward climed to distinction as the 
property of the famous John H. Schorr, of Memphis. Mr. 
Obear is a gentleman and a scholar, and I am glad to be able 
to speak of him as I do, for there is not a truer friend or a 
man more worthy of respect in all this broad land. 

John H. Schorr is from Memphis, Tenn., where he has 
vast brewing interests. But his chief belongings at the 
present time and the ones that are liable to bring him the 



146 

most lasting fame are his horses. With them he has won the 
Memphis Derby, a classic event of the early spring, several 
times, and has landed many of the richest stakes and purses 
from one end of the country to the other. His son, John H. 
Schorr, Jr., is associated with him his racing interests and to- 
gether they have one of the most formidable strings in 
America. Among the great horses Mr. Schorr has owned 
might be mentioned Lieber Karl, Silverdale, Sea Lion and 
Endurance By Right. 

George Bennett is also of Memphis and is a most esti- 
mable gentleman. He is one of the most advanced turfmen 
of the day and always has a string of the best quality. His 
stable has met the most amazing success, winning many of 
the largest stakes all over the country He is a bold oper- 
ator both as a bookmaker and an owner. Among the horses 
he has owned are Farmer Bennett, Miss Bennett and Dis- 
habille, the latter unquestionably the best mare of 1906, and 
a host of others. He is yearly bringing to the turf horses 
that are hard to beat, and all jockey clubs East and West are 
always glad to know that George Bennett is going to 
race his horses there. 

William McGuigan, of Arkansas, is known as " Um- 
brella Bill," because he always carries a large umbrella with 
him, whether it is raining or shining. He has trained and 
put in selling shape more horses m the early spring time than 
any other man living. His idea is to sell his horses as quickly 
as possible and then look out for other phenomenons. Ben 
Eder, Lady Inez, Bannockburn and a great many other celeb- 
rities might be mentioned. 

Sam Bryant was known from one end of Kentucky to the 
other as a clever gentleman whom everbody liked. He 
owned the famous Proctor Knott, Uncle Bob and a great 
many who became noted on the turf. Col. Bryant was a 
resident of Louisville and had a charming little place oppo- 
site Churchill Downs there. A real turfman never went to 
Louisville without seeing Col. Bryant, for he was one of the 
most entertaining gentlemen to be found anywhere. 

John C. Kelly was noted as a rider and trainer as well 
as an owner. He lived and died in St, Louis and numbered 
his friends by the score wherever he was known. As a rider 
he bestrode the celebrated Reel in many of her great races. 



147 

He owned Monsoon, Legal Tender, Knight of St. Louis, 
Greenback and others. 

Charles C. Maffitt stood as high as any turfman through- 
out the country, and in St. Louis, Mo., he was the idol of the 
people of all classes. Everybody had a kind word to say 
for him and he had a kind word to say for everybody. 
There was not a single evil trait in the make-up of this gen- 
tleman. Nature fairly exhausted her resources when she 
constructed such a man. He was gentle, loving, thought- 
ful of the comfort of others to a marked degree, generous 
to almost a fault, and possessed of all the characteristics 
that go to make up a perfect gentleman. 

As an entertainer he had few equals in the city of St. 
Louis, and certainly no superiors. His little levees at the 
Fair Grounds were the delight of his friends and they loved 
to gather round the festal board where he presided. What 
he did was done in a most regal way. In the beginning Mr. 
Maffitt had no desire to become a turfman, but his friend Lu- 
cas Turner, who was a breeder, had arranged to hold a sale 
of horses, and Mr. Maffitt bought a few in order to start the 
sale. 

There was no man who thought more of his friends than 
did Mr. Maffitt, and when he became the possessor of a string 
of horses he named the animals after them. One he called 
Lucille Manette, after the daughter of Mr. Pierre Chouteau; 
another Sir RoUa, after Mr. Rolla Wells, the present Mayor 
of the city of St. Louis, who was for years president of the 
Fair Grounds Association. It was always the desire of Mr., 
Maffitt, after he became identified with the turf, to possess 
one of the foremost rank, and he would probably have suc- 
ceeded had not the icy hand of the sable messenger of death 
been laid upon him, and thus cut short a promising career. 

A pretty little incident in connection with this string of 
horses is that after old age set its seal on fleet-footed Lucille 
Manette Mr. Pierre Chouteau built a stable for her and keeps 
her in quiet and comfort as a mark of respect to the memory 
of his lamented cousin. This is only given as an illustration 
of the sincere affection these two gentlemen had for each 
other. But all who knew Charles Maffitt loved him, and 
there was many a tear shed when he breathed his last. 



148 

I ought not to forget the McGibben Bros., of Cynthiana, 
Harrison County, Ky., Thomas and James. Their names 
are a power in Kentucky, and some of the finest horses on 
the turf have stood in their stable. Among them was Spring- 
bok, by Australian, out of Hester, who ran a dead heat with 
Preakness at Saratoga and made himself famous. It was 
probably the greatest cup race ever run in the world. Their 
breeding establishment is a splendid one and many splendid 
horses first saw the light there. Thomas McGibben has 
gone to his reward in the land beyond the skies, but Mr. 
James McGibben is alive and respected by all who know 
him. 

William Barnes is a prominent breeder of Bourbon 
County, Ky. He has a large establishment at the present 
time and is a turfman of great popularity. Especially has 
he always been the favorite of the celebrated firm of Clay & 
Woodford, and once they named a horse for him. The 
animal was speedy and was sold to Dwyer Brothers for a 
large sum. 

William Mulkey, of Kansas City, is a gentleman of the 
old school, and was associated with the firm of Mulkey & 
Avis. They have a large breeding establishment and have 
been very successful on the turf. They have interests all 
over the country, and race from one ocean to the other and 
from the St. Lawrence to the Gulf. No men stand higher 
for honorable, fair methods than do Mulkey & Avis. But I 
must not forget Oliver Louis, " the sable son of Ham," who 
sat on the "red horse" when he went to his victory in the 
Derby at Louisville. He is one of the best men on the turf 
to-day and everybody has a good word for him. May he 
live and die with the same respect entertained for him. 

Charles Green, of St. Louis, while not a turfman, is 
closely identified with racing. He was the owner of the 
beautiful old Association Course at Lexington, Ky., and is 
the man who built the great Fair Grounds Track at St. 
Louis, Mo. He has never owned any horses and has no 
breeding interests. Therefore, he was always actuated by 
purely patriotic motives toward St. Louis. Mr. Green is a 
scholar and came up in the famous Jesuit school, where he 
received every educational advantage. In every sense of 
the word he is a gentleman, and I am proud to be able to 



149 

say he is my friend. Any man might also be proud of the 
distinction. 

JuHus S. Walsh is one of the leading men of the entire 
South and West, and he is known and liked by everybody. 
As president of the great Mississippi Valley Trust Com- 
pany, he stands at the head of one of the largest financial 
institutions of the country. He has been a director in the 
Fair Grounds Association, but he has never had the time to 
take an active interest in racing. However, he has always 
done what he could to promote the interests of the breeders 
of the State and has always been anxious that Missouri 
should forge to the front in this respect. A liberal-minded, 
big-hearted gentleman in every respect, he is esteemed by 
all who know him, and his name will never perish in the 
hearts of the people of St. Louis. 

Ben Lyons, of Sedalia, is a broad-gauged sportsman in 
every particular, and there is probably no man in the State 
enjoying a higher reputation for forcibility, fairness and 
cool-headedness. He owned Sue Derby, by Derby, out of 
Eglantine, and she was a most wonderful animal. Mr. 
Lyons was also interested in the great Alvin Adams and a 
score of others, including Lottie Lee and Pittsburg. He 
has a host of friends wherever he is known, and everybody 
has a high regard for him. All the turfmen of the different 
parts of the State always like to pass through Sedalia in 
order to shake the hand of Ben Lyons. 

Col. Samuel S. Brown, the mighty coal king of Pitts- 
burg, was one of the foremost turfmen of recent times. For 
years he stood as a monument in the South and West and 
some of the best horses that ever strode across a race track 
have raced in his colors. The principal stallion in his string 
was the great Troubadour. Col. Brown was a man of ster- 
ling integrity, kind to almost a fault. 

Charles Reed, of Gallatin, Tenn., who has a large 
breeding establishment there, was one of the foremost turf- 
men of the South. He is an enterprising and nervy man, 
and when he bid $100,000 for the great St. Blaise and got 
him he certainly showed his gameness to a marked extent. 
He also owned Thora, by Longfellow, and a host of others 
of a high class. Most of the time of Mr. Reed is spent in 
New York, where, as a man of great intelligence, honest as 



ISO 

the day is long and a gentleman of the old school, he is be- 
loved by all who have the honor of his acquaintance. 

W. F. Schulte, president of the great Louisville Jockey 
Club, is one of the rising young turfmen of the country. 
He has owned several good strings of horses and has raced 
from one ocean to the other with marked success. The 
most of the horses in his string at the present time are year- 
lings and have done nothing, but they are all very promis- 
ing and he may have some stake winners in the lot. It is 
hoped that he has, for if there is any man who deserves to 
meet with success it is Mr. Schulte. In his own town he is 
very popular, and the people he has met in other cities all 
over the country are always very much impressed with 
him. 

Barney Schreiber is one of the best-known turfmen in 
the great State of Missouri, and there is probably no man 
who has done more for the racing interests of the State. 

His splendid breeding establishment, known as " Wood- 
lands," is located thirteen miles from the city of St. Louis, 
in St. Louis County, between Bridgeton and Florissant. It 
is complete in every particular, and Col. Schreiber has 
spared no expense to make it an equine paradise. The 
stables have every convenience and they are palatial in 
their appointments. 

At present Col. Schreiber has four great stallions in 
his stalls and their gets have already distinguished them. 
At the head of the stud stands imported Sain, who got Otis, 
a prominent candidate for all the great stakes of the coun- 
try ; fleet-footed Corrigan and a host of other grand winners. 
Then there is Foul Shot, who got many good ones ; Bal- 
gowan, a high-class horse himself, and a stallion of much 
promise, and Bannockburn, one of whose sons was the two- 
year-old sensation of the early 1906 in California. 

When the now famous " Woodlands " was started Col. 
Schreiber collected the best mares that money could secure. 
This was away back in 1895, and since that time he has 
clustered about him some of the finest strains that England 
and Australia could afford. Sain brings with his get, the 
strain of St. Simon and Foul Shot, the blood of the mighty 
Musket. This is the blood that is being felt in turf circles 



151 

to-day, and there is never a race where a Sain colt or filly 
starts when they may be counted as long shots. 

Personally, there is no better liked man in all Missouri 
than Barney Schreiber. He numbers his acquaintances as 
his friends, and they cannot say too much in praise of him. 
Of sturdy German parentage, liberal in his views, a follower 
of the Golden Rule in all things, a hand that is always ex- 
tened for any honest man to grasp, it is not surprising that 
he is popular and that he has succeeded. As a bookmaker, 
Barney Schreiber is known far and near on the turf, and 
everywhere his honesty and fairness is recognized. The 
American turf would be better off if there were more men 
like Barney Schreiber connected with it. A friend of all 
men, all men are his friends. 

Before closing this statement of the affairs of beautiful 
" Woodlands,'' I wish to say something concerning the ar- 
rangement of the immense breeding establishment. There 
are about 200 stalls, all large and commodious, and it takes 
a small fortune to keep it going. The private track is one 
of the finest in the country and natural advantages make it 
very fast. No breeder in the world looks after his stock 
farm with more care than does Col. Schreiber, and on his 
return from his occasional pilgrimages he is hailed with 
welcomes by the good old French people, who constitute 
the inhabitants of both Florissant and Bridgeton. If they 
could make him President of the United States, he would be 
in the executive mansion in less time than it takes him to 
record a two-dollar bet on a long shot. 



CHAPTER XX, 

Some Noted Ringers, 

Since there has been racing in America there have been 
occasional ringers that have been detected. Of course, there 
may have been others that the public wots not of, but the 
unfortunate ones who were caught at it are held up as hor- 
rible examples. 

I think that every State that countenances racing 
should have a law passed making ringing obtaining money 
by false pretenses and punishable by imprisonment in the 
penitentiary. Michigan and Virginia already have such 
a law, and the Legislature of New York last year, at the 
instance of the State Racing Commission, passed a very 
drastic and a very admirable anti-ringing bill, making the 
attempt to ring equally as great an offence as the actual 
ringing. 

Every year there is at least some suspicion of ringing ; 
but there have been no notable instances and detections 
during the past twelve months, with the possible exception 
of the attempt at Jamaica with the horse Freekman, which 
was detected in time. I think the idea first came into use 
with county fairs, where the strange farmer with the rope 
harness would drive in with his burr-covered, ungroomed 
old horse and challenge some of the farmers with sleek and 
glossy animals to a brush for a hundred or more a side. 
Often these alleged rustics would get their horses in a 
couple of races and clean up about all that Jasper and Ma 
had been saving all summer. 

The first case of the kind I ever heard of was a fast 
trotter belonging to a man named Howland, who lived in 
the Middle West. He was an ugly brute and there was not 
the slightest trace of symmetry in his makeup. To look at 
him one would figure out that he ought to be able to make 
a mile in about six minutes, if pushed hard with the whip. 

Then this man owned another horse, as pretty as a pic- 
ture. She was the trimmest looking creature that I ever 
beheld, and it took a very experienced eye to be able to say 



153 

that she could not reel off a mile in about 2:20. But this 
animal could not have ^one around the block and got back 
the same day. She was as slow as a snail. 

Howland hitched up the old horse one day to a dilapi- 
dated wagon and drove over to a town called Charlestown, 
in Indiana. Beauty was tied behind. They attracted con- 
siderable attraction as he drove into the fair grounds, where 
the races were about to begin. Howland tried to get 
Beauty into a race, but the farmers would have none of it, 
for they considered her too fast for their horses and didn't 
care to present the purse to a stranger, preferring to have 
it won by a native. 

" Let me put in old Nance then," said Howland, point- 
ing to the sorry nag in the shafts. 

This was agreed to, and then Howland got out a good, 
strong, serviceable sulky from the interior of the wagon. It 
was muddy and worn in many places, but it was right. When 
the time came for the race he hitched his horse up with 
ropes and straps, all tied, with no buckles, and in his hand, 
as he rode out, he had a small sapling with some of the 
branches on the end of it. It looked like a tree. Everybody 
laughed, and there was many a jest concerning the old man 
and his horse. 

Howland had driven over alone, but he had sent his 
partner ahead of him, and the latter at this juncture began 
to circulate around among the bookmakers and the farmers, 
taking every bet he could get on the old nag. Before the 
people realized what had happened, he had down about 
$200 at odds of from 2 to 3 to i. 

It was two in three. Old Nance had no time to lose, 
and she went to the front at the last quarter in the first heat 
and appeared to be all out. She did not look like she could 
make it again, and the confederate had little trouble in get- 
ting down some more money. This time old Nance took 
the lead from the jump and kept it all the way around to 
the wire. Her owner collected and hastened away just in 
time to escape a lynching. This man is said to have worked 
this scheme all over Indiana at the fairs, and then he went 
into Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee, where he found the 
farmers equally credulous. Several times he had narrow 
escapes from losers who realized what had happened, but 
old Nance always carried him out on the road to safety. 



154 

Probably the greatest race where there was a ringer 
was one that occurred some years ago at Latonia. There 
was a fast Eastern plater called Tanner, bought by the 
Brannon brothers, of Nashville, and by them entered as a 
maiden called Polk Badget. They appeared at Latonia with 
the bogus Polk and arranged for a killing. In the first race 
where he was entered they fairly deluged the pool rooms 
all over the country with bets on his chances. The odds 
were very large, and the maiden was backed down to almost 
odds on. 

There was a tremendous amount of money in the ring, 
and it was all put down by the Brannons or men in on the 
play. Polk Badget went to the post, got started with the 
others, and made the bunch resemble a Spanish peseto in 
war time. He won all the way as he pleased, and the 
Brannons lost no time in collecting as soon as the race was 
over. They were afraid they would be caught and they 
could afford to take no chances. At first the deception was 
not suspected and the Brannons cleaned up about $90,000. 
Then some man of a prying mind began to see a resem- 
blance between Polk Badget and Tanner. The whole mat- 
ter came out, but it was too late to recover and the grand 
coupe had been effected. 

Just prior to this occurrence the same people are sup- 
posed to have worked the Louisville Jockey Club and the 
bookmakers of the Kentucky city. They may have entered 
Tanner as Little Dan, an unknown horse. It was in a purse 
race and there was nothing especial in it to beat. Every- 
body had heard of Little Dan before, and he had never been 
known to win a race or even make a showing. In conse- 
quence the odds against him were big. 

But they could not keep the secret that they were 
going to make a killing, for a little stable boy heard of it 
and he told it over at the feed store the morning of the day 
when it was to come off. Of course, it was noised about in 
that circle of people and the result was that the Brannons 
did not get all the profit. The feed store people got down 
for several hundred dollars. But the bookmakers were 
cleaned up good and strong, and when they learned that 
they had been fleeced out of their money they were highly 
indignant that any man should be allowed to remain on the 



155 

turl and be dishonest. So they began a crusade against 
the Brannons, but succeeded in doing them no harm. 

At East St. Louis Polk Badget ran and it was discov- 
ered just after the race that he was the celebrated Tanner. 
The money had been paid in bets and it was too late to get 
that back, but the exasperated officials seized the horse and 
branded him, so that he would forever afterward be known 
and that no more deception could be practiced by the wild 
Tennesseeans. 

Probably the ringer that caused the greatest consterna- 
tion in Missouri was Twilight. It happened many years 
ago, and there was an old-fashioned hog killing on the re- 
sult. The horse was a high-class animal, and he was entered 
under a name other than his own. No attention was paid 
him by any one, and the bookmakers chalked up 15 and 20 
to I on his chances. As rapidly as possible the promoters 
of the scheme at once lost no time in getting down with all 
the money they could raise. Slowly the odds decreased 
and the horse went to the post nearly a favorite. Besides, 
he was played heavily in the pool rooms all over the coun- 
try and perhaps $100,000 was won on this race. 

Twilight went to the front at the proper time and can. 
tered in an easy winner. Such care was taken with him by 
both the jockey and the owner that it was not suspected 
that he was a ringer for more than an hour. Then it began 
to be whispered about that there was something wrong. So 
strong was the suspicion that the judges appointed several 
gentlemen to go to the stable and see if this fast horse was 
really the despised Twilight. When they arrived at the 
stable, where the horse had been kept previously, the stall 
was found to be empty, and there was not the slightest 
trace of the animal. It was as if the earth had opened and 
swallowed him. 

But the owners and promoters of the scheme had col- 
lected everything there was coming to them and they lost 
no time in getting away. The fleet-footed Twilight was 
never heard of afterward. He probably became his proper 
self and raced afterward, but he was not recognized. That 
he was a ringer there is not the slightest doubt. 

Little I Am was the next horse of the ringing variety. 
He also appeared at St. Louis, havmg done some work of a 
first-class character at several Eastern and Southern tracks. 



156 

But Little I Am was an unknown horse, who had done 
nothing to attract attention anywhere. In the race where 
he was entered were several good horses, and they were all 
held above him in the betting. The odds were high and the 
conspirators got all the money they could on the horse. 

The horses went to the post and Little I Am was rated 
along in an easy position until the last eighth was reached. 
Then his rider called on him and he shot ahead and won 
nicely. It did not look suspicious at first, but when the past 
record of Little I Am came to be considered it was apparent 
that something was wrong. An investigation brought out 
the full particulars. The money was all collected on him 
and the promoters lost nothing by being caught. 

I heard of one other little case while I was in Louis- 
ville. A big, burly man kept a livery stable on Jefferson 
Street, not far from Sixth. He was full of the shrewdest 
kind of tricks and never let an opportunity pass to add to 
qis store for a rainy day. One morning a countryman 
entered the place leading an old flea-bitten gray horse. 

"Mister," he said, "I want to sell this horse. To be 
honest with you, I see he is failing and I want to get rid of 
him. You sell him for me and take the ten per cent, com- 
mission. Just take whatever you can get." 

At noon that day the man returned and was told that 
the horse had brought ten dollars. The stableman kept 
one dollar for having made the sale and turned the other 
nine dollars over to the countryman. As the man started 
to leave a nephew of the stableman invited him to go into 
a saloon nearby and get a drink. The farmer consented, 
having had a slight acquaintance with the stableman and 
his brother. During the course of the conversation they 
had over the bar the nephew learned that the countryman 
was going to purchase another horse before he left for 
home. He managed to telephone this fact to his uncle, and 
about an hour later, after they had taken a half dozen 
drinks, they returned to the stable. There the rustic made 
known to the man that he desired to purchase a horse. At 
once a beautiful black was led out and $25 was asked for 
him. The rustic thought this was too high, and finally the 
stableman consented to take $20. This was considered 
satisfactory and the money was paid over. The country- 
man returned home with his new purchase. 



157 

The next day it just poured down rain, and after din- 
ner the farmer went out into the yard, where he had left 
his new and beautiful black, and there stood the old flea- 
bitten gray. The stableman had dyed him and sold him 
back to his former owner. He had not time to do a good 
job of work and used plain lampblack, which the rain 
washed off. 

This is said to be the actual truth, and the man about 
whom it is told is now one of the leading business men of 
the city. He is as well known in Louisville at this time as 
the Mayor of the city. I think the black horse was a 
rinsrer. 



CHAPTER XXL 
Training iot a Race. 

There is a tendency toward returning to long- distances, 
and a happy and encouraging fact this is, though it is not 
receiving that attention from the public breeder to which it 
is entitled. The private breeder, however, is blazing the 
way, and racing associations, by offering large rewards for 
supremacy in such events, are rapidly compelling acqui- 
escence in the plan. It is popular also, for nine men out of ten 
would rather see a good long race, where the horses pass 
the stand as many times as possible, than a short dash, where 
one is hardly interested until it is over. In the olden times 
there was the greatest excitement, because it took some time 
for the contests to be completed and because there was an 
additional interest in watching the struggle of one horse for 
the supremacy over the other. 

It is just the same as in a card game. If it were all 
over by the turn of a single card, no one would care to play 
whist, and thus this fashionable and highly interesting pas- 
time would fade and die. It takes time to produce the ex- 
citement that is attractive to anybody but one who has 
simply gone to the track for speculative purposes. The 
man who really loves the sport because it illustrates the 
glory of the horse wants to see the actual racing and just 
as much of actual contest as is possible. 

The olden time sportsmen cared comparatively little for 
the money to be won. He enjoyed seeing a race and he 
was not in the least actuated by sordid motives. William 
Walker, who rode Ten Broeck in his famous race with 
MoUie McCarthy, once told the writer concerning Mr. Har- 
per, the owner of the horse he bestrode and piloted to vic- 
tory, that Mr. Harper did not bet a cent on the race and 
never bet on any of the races where his horses were en- 
tered. He said the glory of winning was sufficient for him. 
Mr. Harper was a horseman of the old school and was loved 
and respected because of his fairness and devotion to the 
sport. 



159 

But this is a diversion. What I started out to tell the 
people of the present time was how a man trained a horse 
for a heat race when it was necessary for a trainer to thor- 
oughly understand his business. I do not mean to say that 
the trainers of the present time are not good men, but I de- 
sire to convey the impression that they are wedded to short 
distances and that there are not many of them who would 
know how to exactly go about fitting a race horse for a long- 
distance race. Of course, there are a few, and they are 
good men, who have had experience in that line. The same 
methods are not used in the new school as were used by 
those of the old. But in the event of a return to the long 
distances it will be absolutely necessary for the trainers of 
to-day to inform themselves on the very matters which I 
am discussing here. 

We will take, for example, the case of a trainer taking 
one horse to train tor a stake event that is four months off. 
Let us assume the horse to start in this race has just been 
taken up out of the pasture. He is brought to the track or 
training quarters, and the first care of the trainer must be to 
see that the stall is comfortable. It must have plenty of 
ventilation and there must be a nice window in it. This win- 
dow must be sufficiently high to prevent a draught on the 
horse, so as not to give him a cold or bring on any disease 
resultant therefrom. Everything must be clean and there 
must be no ill aroma, for this is a disease producer as well 
as any other cause. This horse must be handled as carefully 
as a child. 

The first day, upon arriving at the training quarters, the 
horse may be walked about the track. It may be at a time 
when there are flies, or his feet may need protection to pre- 
vent them from becoming injured by stamping or anything 
of that order. Therefore, on the second day he should be 
shod. Now, this is not always the case, for his feet may not 
be in such a condition as to require it then, but it should 
not be long until this is done. 

You have now provided comfortable quarters and seen 
to your horse's feet. These are the salient points up to this 
time, and your horse is ready for training. If he comes in 
from the pasture very gross or big in flesh, he should not eat 
over ten quarts of solid grain per day, one-third of it corn. 



i6o 

In the absence of grass, corn is the natural laxative. At 
least two days in the week he should have a mash at noon, 
say Tuesdays and Fridays. The mashes should always be 
cooked. It is frequently the case at the present time that 
cold ones are served, and they often produce colic. One 
might go i)n for twelve months and not have an accident 
from this cause, but in the thirteenth month he would go to 
his stable some morning and find his horse dead in the stall. 
Instead of feeding the mash at night, it should be given at 
noon, so the horse may show the effects in the daytime. 

Walk the horse the first week, giving him short trots 
occasionally to accustom him to the work. Pursue the same 
course the second week, but you may gallop him if he is 
getting along nicely. Then when you send him out for the 
third week you may give him a mile and a quarter gal- 
lop, and then walk him a half mile. Give him another mile 
and a quarter, and then walk him about until he is rested. 
Take him back to the stable and have him rubbed down 
gently, in order to close the pores of the skin, which have 
been opened by the exertion. In this respect he is just like 
a human being. A man always feels refreshed after toil 
by a good rub down, and it is so with a horse. 

By this time he is getting pretty well along. If he is 
very gross, he should be given a two-mile gallop, walked a 
half mile and given another one of two miles. At this time 
his feed should be increased to twelve quarts of solid grain 
per day. But if he is not gross, the distance should not be 
increased to over a mile and one-half. This refers to a deli- 
cate horse. 

The latter animal should be taught to eat as much as 
possible, in order to increase his strength and vitality. If 
the bowels are too loose, cut off the mashes for a time; but if 
the animal is inclined to constipation, they should be kept up. 
By this time, if there has been nothing of a nature that has 
affected the horse's condition, you may begin to move him 
along at the rate of 30 seconds to the quarter two days in 
the week. With such a horse there should be no change 
made until the end of the sixth week. Of course, you must 
be governed by circumstances. 

If the track is good and the weather favorable, you may 
work the horse at a two-minute gait for half a mile. This 



i6i 

should be done twice a week and kept up until the eii^hth 
week. There are yet two months in which to^et him ready 
for the great race in which he is entered. He has got along 
nicely until this time, and there is no change in his condition. 
Even if the horse is perfectly healthy and still is gross, 
he should have a ball, which will loosen him up and cool 
him off, as well as act as a tonic. During the twenty-four 
hours preceding the giving of the medicine at least two 
mashes should be given. This prepares him to receive the 
ball. 

A ball consists of five drachms of fresh Barbados aloes, 
one drachm of calomel, half drachm of rhubarb, half drachm 
of ginger, mixed and worked into a ball or pill. Roll it in a 
little flour, so it will not stick to the hands, and in the event 
there is no veterinary near, it is always best to insert a ball- 
ing iron, so the horse cannot bite you. Be sure to get the 
ball back of the tongue, holding the tongue with the left 
hand. Release the tongue and down goes the ball. 

This operation should be done at eight o'clock in the 
morning, and the horse should be placed in a stall with a 
muzzle on, to prevent his eating. At eight o'clock the next 
morning the horse should show some symptoms of its act- 
ing. In the case there is no evidence of its acting, the horse 
should be walked or trotted to bring about such an action. 
After the medicine shows its effects, begin to check him. 
The idea is to get the medicine properly diffused into the 
system. Feed him some dry hay or oats. Often a horse 
will eat hay when he will not eat anything else. It is just 
as important to get the medicine out of a horse as it is to 
get it into him. The idea is not to purge a horse violently, 
for it may make him sick for six months at a time. Careless 
and incompetent trainers will bring about this state of af- 
fairs nine times out of ten, and they should not attempt it 
unless they know just what they are doing. 

For forty-eight hours after the medicine has been ad- 
ministered and the purging has stopped, the horse should 
be kept in a stall where the temperature is even, so he will 
not take cold and become weakened in any manner. Then 
he should begin to eat regularly again. 

At first, upon taking him out on the track, he should be 
simply walked around for a few days and then gradually 



l62 

put to work until he gets back to his two-mile canters again. 
He is now a horse in perfect condition, and there will be no 
further trouble with him if he is cared for properly. Go on 
as before careful!}' for another week. Then let him move a 
fast quarter — say, about thirty seconds. At the end of this 
week send him along for a half mile in about 158, and one 
week later breeze him along at the rate of a mile in two 
minutes. Do this twice a week. 

Five weeks remain in which to prepare for the race. 
Gallop him two miles and repeat each day, making him do 
the last mile in about two minutes. 

Four weeks remain. Work him again in about 1:50 in 
order to tighten him up. There are three weeks. Give 
him a mile and a quarter in as good as 2:15 or thereabouts. 
If this is done on Monday or Tuesday, he should be given a 
mile in 1:50 five days later. Two weeks remain. Send him 
a couple of miles on Monday in 3:50. The latter part of the 
week send him down a mile in 1:45. Plate him at this junc- 
ture, and send him with company, if possible, whatever the 
distance is, in about as fast time as he will go of his own vo- 
lition. Four days later (he has but two days left) give him 
another two miles well within himself, not pushing him. 

He is now fit and read}' to run his first race of the sea- 
son. The usual gallops may be given the last two days. 
Early in the morning on the day of the race he should be 
moved a quarter or an eighth with some horse as a test to 
show whether he had retained his speed with all this work. 
If he is cheerful, feeds and shows the proper example in 
the stable, he may be pronounced ht to race. 

This method is not infallible, for the horse mav be a dif- 
ferent one than I have described. A wholly different treat- 
ment is needed where the animal is delicate and not strong 
and hardy. There can be no special mode of treatment 
given for the care of any horse, for he may be of a different 
temperament. Then another horse may not need one-fourth 
of this treatment to get him in condition. This is something 
that the level-headedness of the trainer must determine. 



CHAPTER XXII. 
How to Treat a Horse. 



Veterinary Hints from the Pen of a Man Who Has Used Them 
in All His Practice for Sixty Years. 

Among the most virulent and fatal diseases indiginous 
to this climate and also the most obstinate to treat come 
under the heads of glanders and farcy. 

I speak of these difficulties mainly to enable the trainer 
or any farmer to detect the symptoms and prevent their 
spread, as they are extremely contagious for both man and 
horse. They are incurable. 

To guard against the possibility of danger, when a case 
is suspected, the only safe way is to at once either isolate or 
destroy the animal. 1 depend mainly for the explanation 
of these diseases upon several old authors. They fully 
agree with the statements of modern authors that it is prac- 
tically useless to tamper with the glanders. Farcy, in its 
early stages, can be controlled without difficulty, but the 
powerful medicine that it is necessary to use impairs the 
constitution. In addition, the disease is liable to break out 
again or develop glanders. Distinctive symptoms which 
glanders present may be slow in their development, and 
may continue for years before they are well defined, during 
which time the horse may feed and work well. But chronic 
glanders may finally become apparent. 

On the other hand, they may run on for two or three 
weeks very rapidly and make their positive presence known 
by well defined marks. These cases soon come to a fatal 
termination. 

When it is called acute glanders the coat becomes 
rough and starring. The animal is usually hide-bound, the 
belly drawn up, constitutional disturbances exist, pulse 
easily excited, membrane lining of nostrils of a leaden hue, 
glands inside lower jaw where pulse is felt enlarged, hard 
and nodular, like a mass of peas or beans, especially on the 
side from which the discharge takes place — usually the left, 



164 

but sometimes the right, or even from both ; discharge is 
clear and watery at first, becoming thicker and sticky, 
accumulating around the nostrils ; cough may be present, 
but is not an invariable symptom ; as the disease advances 
the discharge increases, becomes purulent, sometimes mixed 
with streaks of blood ; it is of a heavy specific gravity, and 
if dropped into water it sinks to the bottom at once ; it has 
a very effusive smell ; the gland on the affected side adheres 
to the side of the jaw ; ulcerating tubercules form on the 
nostrils, which have a mouse-eaten appearance, being raised 
and irregular at the edges and depressed in the center ; 
they run into patches and spread over the whole nasal sep- 
tum ; weakness and emaciation set in ; the ulceration in 
some cases extends to the cartilages, and even the bones are 
sometimes implicated ; occasional bleedings ensue. 

This disease and farcy may be termed one and the same 
after certain stages present themselves in farcy, and both 
are very contagious. Farcy should be promptly treated in 
its early stages. 

Pink-Eye, — The symptoms are shown in a staggering 
gait, hanging head, shivering as from cold, loss of appetite, 
watery discharge from the eyes, one eye generally closed, 
especially the left one, pulse quickened and weak — from 50 
to 60 per minute, breathing hurried, temperature from 104 
to 106, bowels bound, urine scanty, pinkish color of mucus 
member of the eyelids always present in this disease. 

Treatment. — i ounce carbonate ammonia. 

2 ounces cinchona bark, powdered, 

y?, ounce nux vomica. 

2 drachms digitalis leaves. 

3 ounces gentian root. 

Mix and make into eight balls. Give all the water the 
horse will drink, to which add, say, an ounce of saltpetre. 
Balls should be used after the second day, giving two per 
day, one morning and the other at night before feeding. 
The animal should have gentle exercise for a half hour both 
morning and night and should be in a warm, comfortable, 
well-ventilated stable. No draught should be permitted to 
come directly on the horse. Give reasonable quantity of 
nutritious food. Be sure and keep the bowels consistently 
open at all times. This treatment usually insures a cure. 



i65 

Cough or Chronic Cough.— Put into alcohol all the 
tar it will cut. Add one-third in quantity belladonna (tinc- 
ture). Dose, from one to two teaspoonfuls once or twice a 
day. Another simple remedy which will sometimes work 
very nicely is fluid extract of belladonna, lo to 15 drops, in 
tablespoonful of water on the tongue three or four times a 
day. If there is swelling of the glands of the neck, rub on 
a sharp stimulant or mild blister. The writer has used this 
very successfully, and in sudden attacks I mainly rely upon 
this treatment for allaying the coughing. 

Laminitis or Founder, — This disease may be de- 
scribed as simply congestion or inflammation of the feet. It 
may be severe or moderate, according to the degree of 
disturbance. If inflammation runs high and is allowed to 
continue, it is liable to produce so much disorganization as 
to cause loss of the hoof. This, however, rarely ever hap- 
pens. It produces so much change in the structure of the 
horse as to make him ultimately stiff and sore and practi- 
cally worthless except for slow, easy work. There are two 
stages of this disease, acute and chronic. The first pro- 
duces a high state of excitement and inflammation of the 
sensitive lamina and more or less of the internal structure 
of the foot generally. The second stage develops a morbid 
or insensitive feeling of the parts generally. The first can 
be invariably cured if properly treated, which is not dif- 
ficult. The second stage may be palliated or partially 
relieved, but can never be cured. The treatment is simple 
and very effective. Put warm applications to the feet in 
the nature of poultices or water as hot as can be borne 
without scalding the animal. If possible, put him into a tub, 
so the water may reach up to the knees. Place a man on 
each side with a sponge or rag and let them bathe well the 
entire arm of the horse, while the feet get the benefit of 
the bath standing in the bucket or tub. The latter is 
always preferable, because it has greater capacity to hold 
water and is stronger to support the horse, A little chaff 
or straw thrown in the bottom of the tub for the animal to 
place his tender feet upon while being bathed is a good idea. 
In the meantime there should be some embrocation or 
liniment rubbed over or into the shoulders and along the 



i66 

back and spine. As soon as this is done (gently), in case 
the weather should be cold, windy or otherwise inclement, 
a blanket or enough covering of some kind to guard against 
chilling should be placed on the horse and fastened with 
skewers or any other device that will hold it in proper 
place. 

We suppose the animal, by this time, to have been in 
the hot bath one and one-half hours. If it has been impos- 
sible to secure hot water, then hot poultices may be used. 
But if neither of these are obtainable, place the horse in a 
pond belly deep. Let him stand there two or three hours 
in the soft mud and water, so as to help allay the inflammation. 
After leaving the pond take the horse to the nearest place 
where hot water and poultices can be found. The poul- 
tices should be made of turnips, flaxseed meal, or well- 
scalded bran, appHed to the feet well up to the pasterns by 
means of sacks, heavy rags or boots made especially for that 
purpose. It is understood that the poultices must not be 
permitted to become dry. Lukewarm water should be 
applied to the feet and bag or boot, so as to keek up plenty 
of moisture. If allowed to dry out, this would increase the 
inflammation and thereby prove a detriment. On leaving 
the pond or tub of hot water the horse should be placed in 
a well-ventilated though comfortable stable and the lance 
should be applied to what is usually called the plate vein, 
which comes down on the inside of the foreleg. This 
artery should be lanced just above the knee in both fore- 
legs and at least one quart of blood taken from each leg. 
After this the finger or thumb may be placed tight against 
the orifice or cut made with the lance, so as to coagulate 
the blood and check the bleeding. Bandages, if convenient 
to get, should be applied as high up the leg as can begotten, 
as an artificial support. A good, clean bed of straw should 
be spread under him. A full-habited or gluttonous horse 
should be given three or four carrots or one quart of oats 
with one and a half quarts of bran well scalded and mixed 
together to eat. Then a well-ventilated muzzle should be 
placed on the horse to guard against his eating new or clean 
straw. Nothing is more likely to stiffen or founder a horse 
than overloading the stomach with newly threshed rye or 
wheat straw. The next essential is rest and perfect quiet, 



i6y 

that the animal may lie down, if he will, so as to relieve the 
forelegs of all the weight possible. When he rises to his 
feet again — say within two or three hours — and by his 
actions expresses that he is suffering great pain, he should 
be given two or three drachms of powdered opium or five 
or ten grains of morphine. If available, one or two grains 
of morphine should be injected under the skin, as there is 
nothing that so tells on a horse's strength as excessive pain. 
If the bowels should show in the least undue dryness or a 
tendency to constipation, a mild cathartic should be ad- 
ministered — five drachms Barbados aloes, one drachm of 
ginger, enough bar soap to make a mass ; make into a ball 
and give quietly, so as not to irritate the patient. From the 
beginning of the treatment administer from 8 to lo drops of 
aconite every half hour for lour or five hours. In cases 
where there is much inflammation I have never found any 
treatment to equal it, and I have treated successfully many 
bad cases of laminitis and founder with this method. In 
high fever all of the gruel and water the animal will drink 
and a sufficient quantity of wet mashes and carrots or green 
stuff (grass) to keep up vitality should be given. A little 
solid grain should be given, which will assist nature to 
resist all maladies and enables her to react against them. 
Exhaustion means a want of vitality, and both man and 
beast often go down to the grave because they too often get 
too much medicine and not enough nutrition in the way oi 
food. They sometimes die from sheer weakness. 

Catarrh or Cold in the Head. — This is an affection 
of the lining of the membranes of the nasal chambers and 
cavities of the head. It consists in a congested or inflamed 
state of that membrane, giving rise to a glistening discharge 
from one or both nostrils. When the head of the windpipe 
or larynx is implicated, accompanied with cough, well- 
defined symptoms of catarrh are manifested. The majority 
of young horses under five years of age may be said to be 
predisposed to this affection. The exciting causes are 
sudden variations in the temperature, undue exposure to 
cold when an animal is in a heated state, especially after a 
hard day's work or drive or standing in badly ventilated 
stables or any place where the animal is exposed to cold 



i68 

draughts. Perhaps the most common cause of catarrh in 
young horses is placing them in warm stables in the fall 
immediately upon taking them off the pastures. The sud- 
den change from a cold to a hot temperature is more likely 
to cause catarrh than a change from a hot to a cold stable. 

Symptoms. — If the horse is standing in the stable, he 
will appear dull and mopish, inclined to hang his head in 
the manger ; the mouth is hot and the pulse quickened and 
weak ; the coat begins to be starring and the lining mem- 
brane of the nose is reddened; if the larynx is involved, 
light pressure on that region will cause coughing. This is 
the congestive stage. It will soon pass off and exudation 
take place from the vessels, causing a discharge from the 
nostrils, at first watery and gradually becoming thicker and 
of a yellowish hue. In some instances this matter becomes 
pent up within the sinusses of the head, and comes away 
every three or four hours in quantities. A watery discharge 
from the eyes is often an accompaniment of catarrh. Should 
these symptoms become aggravated the appetite is impaired, 
the bowels costive and the focces passed are of a clayey 
nature, legs and ears cold, breathing accelerated. Catarrh, 
if improperly treated or neglected by keeping the animal 
at work, having constantly changing temperatures, is very 
apt to descend to the chest and prove a prolific source for 
more formidable diseases, such as pneumonia, pleurisy, 
bronchitis. 

Trcatiiicnt. — Keep the bowels open, feed carrots and 
mashes, use counter-irritation of the larynx with mustard, 
keep throat wrapped up with a blanket or something else, 
so as to break off the cold from the thorax, give all the luke- 
warm water or scalded gruel made of meal mixed in water. 
Then give internally two drachms of belladonna and one 
ounce of chlorate of potash, with a sufficient quantity of 
honey, to be made into the form of an electuary and applied 
with a spoon to the back of the tongue; also put one-half 
ounce chlorate of potash into a bucket of water and keep it 
before the animal, that he may drink of it when he desires 
to do so. 

Strangles or Distemper.— This disease is akin to 
catarrh, as both are creatures of the same causes. Both 



169 

may be brought on by the animal being subjected to ex- 
posure to sudden changes of temperatures — from dry to 
damp and from hot to cold. The disease differs from catarrh, 
because it most frequently attacks young horses, generally 
from two to five years old. It seems to be nature's design 
to throw some poisonous matter from the system, and the 
treatment should be that which will assist the animal best 
and most readily in doing so. The vitality should be as- 
sisted, therefore, by feeding nutritious food, in the nature 
of vegetables and bran mashes, keeping the bowels open 
and strengthening the animal at the same time. This dis- 
ease occurs most often in springtime, and shows itself dur- 
ing damp, cold weather, in radical changes of temperature 
or when horses are being changed from one locality to 
another, as from the country out of a pasture, where there 
is plenty of pure, cool, healthy air, to which they have be- 
come acclimated, and placed in a hot stable in the city. It 
rarely ever fails to bring on a violent attack of catarrh and 
distemper, and sometimes pneumonia also. 

Treatment. — Provide a well-ventilated stable, clothe 
warmly, rub and bandage the legs with good, warm flannel, 
use freely a poultice made of warm water, bran and vinegar, 
to be applied to the throat so as to encourage a free dis- 
charge of puss. In an hour apply again. 

To Treat a Curh. — Grease with lard from the curb spot 
to the hoof after applying the blister and daily as long as it 
discharges. It should run freely for 36 or 48 hours. It 
will remove the lump in a scab from the curb. Muzzle 
horse till blister is stopped. Stop the blister and dress it 
daily afterward with sweet oil or lard. The horse should 
not be worked till the swelling leaves the legs. 

Blood or Bog Spavin. — Wet the part well with acetic 
acid, rub in slightly with bare hand. Moisture like dew 
should come from it in three minutes. If it does not sweat 
this way, apply once daily until it does so. Apply afterward 
once a week until cured. Turn the animal out and let him 
exercise in a lot or field. Severe exercise should be avoided. 
Feed moderately. 

Si'ASM of the Diaphragm or Colic. — This is gener- 
ally provoked by the heedlessness of the rider. A horse is 
overmarked, as the condition is technically called, when the 



170 

animal is urged onward to the point of falling. The person 
Avho may occupy the saddle becomes conscious of a strange 
and loud noise coming from tne body which he bestrides. 
It appears to the equestrian as though some demon were 
located within the carcase and was violently striking the 
sides. Should the indication be observed the noise will be 
found to proceed from behind or immediately under the 
rider. This noise is produced by a spasm of the diaphragm. 
The horse must, as the word overmarked seems to imply, 
have been pushed far beyond the point where man should 
have pulled the reins a little distance further back. After 
the symptoms are developed they will bring the animal to 
the ground. Stop him immediately. The rider should dis- 
mount. The loins should be covered with the rider's coal, 
if nothing better be at hand. The rider who has caused 
the misery is bound to make any sacrifice for its alleviation. 
The girths should be loosened, the bridle removed, and, 
when time has passed for the system to become slightly 
tranquilized, the animal should be led gently to the nearest 
shelter. So soon as it is under cover the following drink 
should be administered, but time should be taken to give 
the medicine, as the condition of the horse forbids all 
haste : 

Sulphuric ether, 2 ounces. 

Tincture of camphor, ^ ounce. 

Opium (tincture), i ounce. 

Cold water or gruel, i pint. 

This should be repeated every quarter of an hour till 
four drinks are swallowed. Then the intervals should be 
lengthened to half an hour, and as the symptoms decrease 
the medicine ought to be administered at still longer peri- 
ods, and ultimately but graduallv withdrawn. There are, 
however, other things to be done. When the animal is first 
brought in get two assistants : give two leg bandages to 
each of the helpers, together with a sponge and a basin of 
cold water. The four legs should be bandaged and the 
mouth sponged out, also nose, eyes and anas. The horse 
should not be excited in the least and the work should be 
performed very quietly. This done, if the ears are cold 
they should be pulled and the head rubbed slightly, in order 
to bring up circulation. Clothing should be put on — hood 



171 

and body clothing. Wet swabs should then be placed on 
the feet and a pail of gruel suspended from the manger. 
Spasm of the diaphragm, if taken in time, is not gen- 
erally fatal, and no man, however determined a Nimrod 
he may be, is justified in proceeding after having recognized 
so mysterious a warning. The sound before alluded to 
must emphatically inform the rider that all is not right with 
the animal on which he is seated. When spasm of the dia- 
phragm terminates fatally, approaching dissolution is an- 
nounced by easily recognized signs. The pulse cannot be 
felt under the jaw ; the heart only flutters, instead of beat- 
ing regularly ; the feet are icy cold, a yellow discharge 
drains from the nostrils, breath becomes fetid, pupil of the 
eye enlarges, the horse wanders round and round its box 
and soon sinks and perishes. 

Typhoid Pneumonia. — This cause is mainly attributed 
to those influences which interfere with the general health 
and vigor of the animal — overcrowding, improper ventila- 
tion, confinement in damp, filthy stables, drinking bad water 
which holds in solution decomposing organic matter, in- 
sufficient nourishment and undue exposure, together with 
what may be termed general atmospheric cause. 

Symptoms. — The horse is off his feed, disinclination to 
move, appetite gone, pulse weak and low, will sometimes 
eat a little, but will not lie down, stands hanging his head, 
is listless and stupid, not much cough, rarely any discolora- 
tion of the membrane of the nose or eyes, urine scanty and 
high colored, foeces hard and coated. After two or three 
days the membranes of the nose and eyes become a little dis 
colored or red, the pulse becomes quicker — sixty-five to 
seventy, breathes quicker. About the fourth or fifth day 
there is usually a discharge from the nostrils of brackish, 
bran-colored cerum. 

Treatment. — As the word typhoid means low, it is 
necessary to watch it carefully in that stage, which will last, 
as described in " Symptoms," the first four or five days. In 
many cases the pulse will run down to thirty. Stimulants 
should be used at this stage, such as a little brandy and 
water or whisky and water. A gill or two of the stimulant 
should be given as a drench, or, what is better, take carbo- 



nate of ammonia from one to two drachms, powdered ginger 
root from one to two drachms ; made into a ball with honey 
or molasses ; administer twice a day. It is to be remem- 
bered that this treatment is to be used onl3^in the low stage 
of the disease. If the pulse rises to fifty or sixty on the fifth 
or sixth da)', then the patient should be treated as if for 
pleurisy and fever medicines used. Under this latter treat- 
ment the pulse will subside and resume its natural number 
of beats (40). In this form of the disease the horse is ex- 
tremely prostrated at first, the whole system being inactive. 
At first the pulse may run up to seventy or eight}'. The 
horse should be kept moderately warm, the head, neck and 
extremities clothed well ; should have well ventilated stall, 
with no draught on him ; keep bowels open by injections ; 
give plenty water, but be sure to take the chill air off it by 
putting a few quarts of warm water into the bucket of cold 
water, with a little of nitrate of potash, as directed in pneu- 
monia. Nurse the horse with anything he will eat — an 
apple, carrot, a handful of wet hay, a little warm grass or 
anything he will eat of an alterative nature. Be sure for 
lour or five days to let him have all the quiet and rest pos- 
sible, after which all will be well. Do not put him to 
hard labor of any kind too soon for fear of a relapse brought 
on by enervation or weakness. 

Worms. — Since there are thousands of good horses 
whose health becomes impaired when worms accumulate 
in large number in their systems, one cannot be too careful 
in his examination of the causes why his horse does not look 
or do well. He gives the animal plenty of good, nutritious 
food and he eats, but the hair stares, his foeces becomes dry, 
belly tucks up, and he neither gains flesh or otherwise does 
well. These symptoms generally indicate worms, which live 
in the horse by sucking up the nutrition of his food, inter- 
fering with and sometimes demoralizing the gastric juices, 
also greatly depleting the sugary quality of the bile (called 
kime). When this takes place necessarily bad digestion 
must follow, then weakness, a rough coat and bad general 
health. Unless timely vermifuges are given, with other 
purgative medicine, of which I give a list that are almost in- 
fallible for eradicating worms and producing a reaction for 



173 

the betterment of the horse's condition, I recommend the 
following 

Treatment — Which I have used for many years with 
great satisfaction: Mash the horse with well-scalded bran 
mashes for two feeds; then at nighttime give him one powder 
for three successive nights made into the following combi- 
nation, but divided into three equal parts (one to be given 
each night): 3 drachms of English calomel and one drachm 
tartar emetic. This is to be followed in twenty-four hours 
by a good purging ball made of five drachms Barbados 
aloes, two drachms of ginger, one drachm of rhubarb, mixed 
with molasses and flax seed, meal or flour. After the medi- 
cine begins to work let the horse remain quiet in a comfort- 
able stall, and examine the foecestosee if the worms are be- 
ing carried off. Then after eight or ten stools have passed 
off small quantities of food may be given, together with 
reasonable quantities of tepid water. This treatment never 
fails to get rid of worms and improve the general health of 
the horse. I have practiced it for more than forty years. 
(The Old Veteran Himself.) 

To Blister a Curb. — Put one hundred grains of finely 
powdered corrosive sublimate in a one-half ounce bottle of 
alcohol and let it remains till it dissolves. Shave the hair 
off close and apply with a cork for ten or twelve minutes. 
If it does not take effect in an hour, repeat the application. 

Thrush. — This is a disease peculiar to all the lower 
animals under certain conditions. Horses, oxen and sheep 
are especially liable to become affected with it. It is gen- 
erally produced by permitting stock to remain in buildings 
that are unclean, such as allowing horses to stand too long 
in their own stools and urine. When this is the case, unless 
their feet are being picked out, washed or otherwise cleansed 
daily, thrush invariably sets in. If allowed to run any 
length of time, it will eat up the internal structure of the 
foot, and cause not only disunion to take place, but the loss 
of the hoof sometimes results. 

In order TO prevent thrush keep your stables clean, 
have your horses' hoofs picked out or washed at least twice 
a week to prevent the accumulation of filth, keep your 
horses' feet clean. This same order applies to oxen and 



174 

sheep. Clean the feet of the latter animals at least once 
every ninety days, and dress the feet with a coat of blue- 
stone well pulverized and mixed with sufficient honey to 
make a salve. After the feet have been thoroughly cleansed 
apply the salve with a brush. This treatment will secure 
good, sound frogs and healthy, natural feet. 

It is very essential that the horse's feet be kept in good 
condition, and to bring this about the utmost care should be 
used in looking after them 



CHAPTER XXIII. 
The Track Records. 

The whole thought of the turfmen of to-day inclines 
tOAvard speed and there is nothing they have not done to 
assist in this development. Comparisons, therefore, of the 
time in races made in the years ago and that at present 
clipped off are merely interesting without being conclusive 
of anything. Time is relative and so always has been con- 
sidered by turfmen, whether racing is to them a matter of 
speculation or a medium of recreation. 

Atmosphere, environment, condition of course, charac- 
ter of pace, judgment of jockey — all these and a dozen more 
contingencies enter into the making up of time. To-day 
it is a selling plater that makes a record and to-morrow for 
that same plater to be beaten thoroughly in much slower 
time by a horse of quality who always could and always 
would beat him, and yet who never had a record emblazoned 
on his career. Discussions of records, therefore, from a 
time standpoint, are profitless and, in many instances, mis- 
leading. I do not mean to dim by any word of mine any 
laurel now worn by the glorious living or by the valiant 
dead. Time is interesting and, at periods, informatory, but it 
never can, other than by accident, be conclusive as to merit. 
The Great Futurity, inaugurated in 1 888 by the Coney 
Island Jockey Club, run in the fall, six furlongs, by two- 
year-olds, annually, is one of the richest of all of the Ameri- 
can classics, and has been won by the horses year after year, 
as herein mentioned, since it was inaugurated : 
1888. — Proctor Knott, 122 lbs. (Barnes), ist; Salvator, 108 

lbs.; Galen, 115 lbs.; time, 1.15I; value, $45,000; 14 

starters. 
1889. — W. L. Scott's Chaos, 109 lbs. (Day); St. Carlo, 122 

lbs.; Sinaloa II, 105 lbs.; time, i:i6f ; value, $63,675 ; 23 

starters. 
1890. — August Belmont's Potomac, 115 lbs. (Hamilton); 

Masher, 108 lbs.; Strathmeath, 124 lbs.; time, 1:14^; 

value, $77,000; 15 starters. 



176 

1891. — D. Gideon's His Highness, 130 lbs. (J. McLaug-hlin"); 
Yorkville Belle, 115 lbs.; Dagonet, 108 lbs.; time, 1:15-^; 
value, $72,000; 21 starters. 

1892, — A. F. Van Ness's Morelo, 118 lbs. (Haywood); Lady- 
Violet, 118 lbs.; St. Lenards, 115 lbs.; time, i:i24-; value, 
841.375; 17 starters. 

1893. — J. R. & F. P. Keene's Domino, 130 lbs. (Taral); Gali- 
lee, 115 lbs.; Dobbins, 130 lbs.; time, i:i24; value, $45,- 
000 ; 20 starters. 

1894. — Gideon & Dal)^'s Butterflies, 112 lbs. (Griffin); Brandy- 
wine, 108 lbs.; Agitator, no lbs.; time, i:ii; value, $63, 
830; 17 starters. 

1895. — Gideon & Daly's Requital, 115 lbs. (Griffin); Cre- 
sendo, 114 lbs.: Silver H, 108 lbs.; time, 1:1 if ; value, 
$69,770 ; 20 starters. 

1896. — Marcus Daly's Ogden, 115 lbs. (Tuberville); Orna- 
ment, 116 lbs.; Rodermond, 115 lbs.; time, 1:10; value, 
$56,970; 10 starters. 

1897. — L. S. & \V. P. Thompson's L'Alouette, 115 lbs. 
(Clawson); Lidian, 115 lbs.; Uriel, 115 lbs.; time, i:ii; 
value, $43,300 ; 18 starters. 

1898.— W. Heulin's Martimas, 118 lbs. (H. Lewis); High 
Degree, 113 lbs.; Mr. Clay, 118 lbs.; time, r.i2f; value, 
$46,840; 23 starters. 

1899. — James R. Keene's Charconac, 114 lbs. (Spencer); 
Brigadier, 109 lbs.; Windmere, 112 lbs.; time, i:iof ; 
value, $41,000; 20 starters. 

1900. — W. C. Whitney's Ballyhoo Bey, 112 lbs, (T. Sloan); 
Olympian, 112 lbs.; Tommy Atkins, 129 lbs.; time, 1:10; 
value, $42,000; 12 starters. 

1901. — John E. Madden's Yankee, 119 lbs. (O'Connor): Lux 
Caster, 109 lbs.; Barron, 112 lbs.; time, 1:093-; value, 
$46,210; 19 starters. 

1902. — John A. Drake's Savable, 119 lbs. (Lyne); Lord of 
the Vale, 117 lbs.; Dazeling, 116 lbs.; time, 1:14; value, 
$56,660 ; 24 starters. 



177 

1903. — Sydney Paget's Hamburg Belle, 114 lbs. (Fuller); 
Leonidis, 123 lbs.; The Minute Man, 122 lbs.; time, 1:13; 
value, $46,550; 18 starters. 

1904. — H. B. Duryea's Artful, 114 lbs. (Hildebrand); Tradi- 
tion, 127 lbs.; Sysonby, 127 lbs.; time, i:iif ; value, $52,- 
990; 16 starters. 

1905. — Ormondale Stable's Ormondale, 117 lbs. (Redfern); 
Timber, 119 lbs.; Belmere, 117 lbs.; time, 1:1 if ; value, 
$43,680; 17 starters. 

1906. — Wm. Lakeland & B. G. Thomas's Electioneer, 117 
lbs., by Voter — Quesal (L. Williams); Tourenne, 
Aleatheaw ; time, i:i3|. 

Note.— The distance in 1892, 1893, 1894, 1895, 1896, 1897, 
1898, 1899, 1900, 1901 was 170 feet less than six furlongs; 
other years the distance was full six furlongs. 

The Flying Handicap.— Inaugurated in 1893. For 
three-year-olds; six furlongs: 

1893. — Gideon & Daly's Cactus, 115 lbs. (Overton); time, 
i:ii|. 

1894. — J. R. Keene's Domino, 130 lbs. (Taral); time, 1:10. 

1895. — San Anita Stable's Rey del Carreres, 122 lbs. (Taral); 
time, i:iif. 

1896. — Wm. Wallace's Refuge, 100 lbs. (Tod Sloan); time, 
1:16. 

1897. — A. H. & D. H. Morris's Casseopia, 108 lbs. (F. Little- 
field); time, 1:151^. 

1898. — W.B.Jennings's Bendoran, 112 lbs. (Maher); time, 
i:i4f. 

1899. — Sydney Paget's Toluca, 108 lbs. (Clawsoii); time, 1:14. 

1900. — Sam Hildreth's Vulcain, 124 lbs. (Henry); time, i:i3|. 

1901. — Goughacre Stable's Dublin, 118 lbs. (McCue); i:i2f. 

1902. — A. Featherston's Hatasoo, 122 lbs. (Shaw); time, 1:13. 

1903. — W. B.Jennings's Shot Gun, 119 lbs. (Odom); time, 
i:i4|. 

1904. — S. S. Brown's Broomstick, 129 lbs.; time, i:i3-|. 



178 

1905. — James McLaughlin's Oxford, 109 lbs,; time, 1:15^. 

1906. — Newcastle Stable's b. c. Inquisitor, 120 lbs. (Miller); 
Frank J. Farrell's ch. c. Arklita, 123 lbs.; T. L. Watt's 
b. f. Consistent, 97 lbs. 

Note. — Prior to 1896 races were run over the old 
Futurity Course, 170 feet less than six furlongs. 

The Great Autumn Steeplechase. — For four-year- 
olds and upwards ; about two miles and a half. Inaugur- 
ated, 1906. 

190O. — Brownleigh Park Stable's b. g. John M. P. (aged), 
162 lbs., first; Bartlet McLennan's b. g. Agent (4 )^ears), 
second ; Bonny Brook Stable's ch. g. Alfar (4 years), 
third ; time, 5:05. 

The Sapphire Stakes. — For two-year-olds that have 
not won a race of the value of $1,000 up to the time of clos 
ing; five and one-half furlongs. Futurity Course. 

1887.— V. F. Mattese Stable's Geraldine, 116 lbs. (Kelly); 
time, 1:15. 

1888.— D. D. Withers's Sluggard, 108 lbs. (George Taylor); 

time, i:i4f. 
1889. — August Belmont's Magnet, 118 lbs. (Anderson); 

time, 1:19^. 

1890. — Bashford Manor Farm's Gascoin, in lbs. (Overton); 
time, 1:10. 

1891. — G. E. Smith's King Cadmus, in lbs. (Taral); time, 
i:09f. 

1892. — Blemton Stable's Belgarde, 108 lbs. (Syms); time, 
1:09. 

1893. — J. Ruppert, Jr.'s, Longsdale, 118 lbs. (Lamle); time, 
i:o8f. 

1894. — P. Lorillard's Dolabra, 118 lbs. (Hamilton); time, 
i:08|. 

1895. — L. E. Zell's Kamsin, 115 lbs. (Griffin); time, i:oSf. 

1896.— A. H. & D. H. Morris's The Friar, 125 lbs. (F. Lit- 
tlefield); time, 1:07^. 



179 

i897- — L. S. & W. P. Thompson's The Huguenot, ii8 lbs. 
(W. Martin); time, i:o8. 

1898. — Mrs. B. McClellan's Ways and Means, 125 lbs. 
(Maher); time, 1:10. 

1899. — J- E. Madden's Gulden, 118 lbs. (Odom); time, i:o8f. 

1900. — J. R. & F. P. Kcene's Conroy, 109 lbs. (Spencer); 
time, i:o6|. 

1901. — W. C. Whitney's Pretorious, 108 lbs. (Burns); time, 

1:08. 

1902. — J. R. Keene's Clarion, 108 lbs. (O'Connor); time, 
i:o6f. 

1903. — A. L. Aste's Luxemburg, 108 lbs. (Gray); time, 1:07. 

1904. — S. S. Brown's Agile, 118 lbs. (Burns); time, 1:06^. 

1905. — C. R. Ellison's Lady Navarre, 115 lbs. (Burns); time, 
1 :09. 

1906.— E. S. Burke, Jr.'s, b. c. W. H. Daniell, first, 125 lbs. 
(Jones), time i:o6|; Paumonok, second; J. E. Segram's 
ch. c. Main Chance, third. 

Note, — Prior to 1889 the distance was six furlongs. 

The Ocean Handicap.— Coney Island; $2,500 added. 
Previous winners : 

1894. — J. R. «Sr F. P. Keene's Domino (3), 116 lbs. (Taral); 
time, 1:40^. 

1895. — Pastime Stables Henry Young (5), 107 lbs. (A. Clay- 
ton); time, 1:39^. 

1896.— J. M. Murphy's Buck Massie (4), 119 lbs. (J. Hill); 
time, 1:41. 

1897.— G. E. Smith's Belmar (5), 121 lbs. (T. Sloan); time, 
1:41. 

1898. — W. B. Jenning's Briar Sweet (3), no lbs. (Maher); 
time, 1:40^. 

1899. — Harness & Brosman's Imp (5), 123 lbs. (P. Clay); 
time, 1:40}. 

1900. — James R. Keene's Voter (6), 130 lbs. (Spencer); 
time, i:39f. 



i8o 

1901.— J. E. Widener's Ten Candles (4), 122 lbs. (Spencer); 
time, 1:381. 

1902.— J. E. Madden's Col. Bill (3), 105 lbs. (H. Michaels); 

time, i:39f. 
1903.— E. R. Thomas's Hermis (4), 127 lbs. (Odom); time, 

i:39f 
1904.— W. B. Jennings's Dainty (4), no lbs. (Hildebrand); 

time, 1:39. 

1905.— W. B. Jennings's Prosper (3), 122 lbs. (Knapp); time, 
i:4if 

1906 — A. Belmont's Tiptoe (3), 107 lbs. (Horner); time, 
1:381. 

The Brooklyn Handicap is one of the annuals that 
is always looked forward to with great interest by all 
classes, as the best horses, from three-year-olds up to all 
ages, are invariably entered in this race, it being one of 
the American Classics, the distance being ijm. 

1887. — Dry Monopole (imp. Glenelg), Blue Wing, Hidalgo; 

time, 2:07; value, $5,850; 17 starters. 
1888. — The Bard (Longfellow), Hanover, Exile; time, 2:13; 

value, $6,925 ; 17 starters. 

1889. — Exile (imp. Mortemer), Prince Royal, Terra Cotta; 
time, 2:07^; value, $6,900; 7 starters. 

1890. — Castaway II (Outcast), Badger, Erie; time, 2:10; 
value, $6,900 ; 9 starters. 

1 891. — Tenny (imp. Rayon d'Or), Prince Royal, Tea Tray ; 
time, 2:10; value, $14,800; 21 starters. 

1892. — Judge Morrow (Vagabond), Pessara, Russell ; time, 
2:o8| ; value, $17,750; 12 starters. 

1893. — Diabalo (Eolus), Lamplighter, Lonawell; time, 2:09; 
value, $17,500; 13 starters. 

1894. — Dr. Rice (Onondaga), Henry of Navarre, Sir Walter; 
time, 2:07^; value, $17,750; 14 starters. 

1895. — Hornpipe (imp. Mr. Pickwick), Lazzarone, Sir Wal- 
ter; time, 2:1 ij; value, $7,750 ; 12 starters. 



iSi 

1896, — Sir Walter (imp. Midlothian), Clifford, St. Maxim; 
time, 2:o8i ; value, $7,750 ; 8 starters. 

1897. — Howard Mann (Duke of Montrose), Lake Shore, 
Volley ; time, 2:09! ; value, $7,750 ; 1 1 starters. 

1898. — Ornament (imp. Order), Ben HoUoday, Sly Fox; 
time, 2:10 ; value, $7,800; 8 starters. 

1899. — Banastar (Farandole), Lanky Bob, Filigrane ; time, 
2:o6|^; value, $7,800; 16 starters. 

1900. — Kinley Mack (imp. Isinglass), Rafaello, Herbert; 
time, 2:10; value, $7,800; 9 starters. 

1901.— Conroy (St. Leonardo), Herbert, Standing; time, 2:09 ; 
value, $7,800 ; 9 starters. 

1902. — Reina (imp. Esher), Advance Guard, Pentecost; time, 
2:07 ; value, $7,800 ; 14 starters. 

1903. — Irish Lad (imp. Candlemas), Gunfire, Heno ; time, 
2:o5f ; value, $14,950; 12 starters. 

1904. — The Picket (Falsetto), Irish Lad, Proper; time, 2:o6f ; 
value, $15,800 ; 16 starters. 

1905. — Delhi (Ben Brush), Ostrich, Graziallo ; time, 2:o6-|; 
value, $15,800; II starters. 

1906. — Tokalon (Tammany), Dandelion, The Picket; time, 
2:051 ; value, $15,800; 14 starters. 



FASTEST TIME ON RECORD IN U. S. 

J^ mile Bob Wade, 4, Butte (Mont.). Aug. 20. 1890 -.. 0:21)^4 

% " Atoka, a, 115, Butte (Mont.), Aug. 23, 1906 .- orss^'^ 

33^ fur. Judge Thomas, a, 134, Butte (Mont.), July 14, iqo2 0:403^ 

1/ mile -I Gkraldine, 4, 122, Morris P'k(str'ht co'se), Aug. 30, 1889 0:46 

^ ) Bessie Macklin, 2, 100, Dallas (Tex.), Oct, 3, 1899 0:463^ 

1/ f j Tanya, 2, 107, Morris Park (str'ht co'se). May 12, 1904. 0:513^ 

4/2 lur- -I Old England, 2, loS, Cal. J. C. (Oakland), Dec. 18, 1901 0:53 

5x ., j Maid Marl\n, 4, iii, Mor. P'k (str'ht co'se), Oct. 9, 1894 0:56^4; 
^gmue ^ George F. Smith, 4, 100, San Francisco (Cal. J. C). 

March 7, 1895 0:59 

i^ r \ Plater, 2, 107, Morris Park (str'ht co'se), Oct. 21, 1902 1:023^ 

5^2 " ■ } McGee, 3, 105, Chicago (Harlem), Oct. i, 1903 1:05 1-5 

Futurity Course (170 feet less than % mile). 

Kingston, a, 139, Sh'sh'd Bay (C. I. J. C), June 22, 1891 1:08 

, , j Artful, 2, 130, Morris Park (str'ht co'se), Oct. 15, 1904 1:08 

^^' I RosKBEN, 4, 147, Belmont Park (L. I.), Oct. 6, 1905 1:11 

iLADY Vera-, 2, 90, Belmont Park (L. I.), (str'ht co'se), 

Oct. 19, 1906 - 1:16 3-5 

OxKORD, 4, 118, Belmont Park (L. I.), Oct. 15, 1906 i:i8 i 5 

7 fur. RosEBEN, 5, 126, Belmont Park (L. I.), Oct. 16, 1906 1:22 

73^ fur. Dainty, 4, 109, San Francisco (Oakland), Dec. 19, 1904. 1:32 
fSAi.VATOR, 4, no, Monmouth Park, Aug. 28, 1890 

I (against time, straight course). i:35'-2 

I mile -J KiLDEER, 4, 91, Monm'th P'k, Aug. 13, 1902 (str'ht co'se) 1:37^4 

I KiAMESHA, 3, 104, Belmont Park (L. I.), Oct. 9, 1905.. . 1:37 2 5 

[ Dick Welles, 3, 112, Chicago (Harlem), Aug. 14, 1903. 

C Macy, 4, 107, Chicago (Wash'ton P'k), July 2, 1898 

, ' Maid Marian, 4, 106, Chicago (Washington Park), 

im.2oyds.< July, 19, 1893 1:40 

[Six Shooter, 5, 11 r, Chi. (W'h'ton P'k), June 27, 1903 

I m. 50 yds. Haviland, 6, 99, Chicago (W'h'ton P'k), July 7, 1903 1:41 1-5 

. ( JiMiNEZ, 3, lor, Chicago (Harlem), Sept. «;, 1901 1:42 

I m. 70 yas. -j Q^jy^y, 3, 96, Chicago (Harlem), Aug. 31, 1904 

I m. 100 yds. Grand Opera, 4, 77, Chicago (Harlem), Aug. 12, 1903. 1:44 3-5 

T T ir i Israelite, 4, 101, Brighton Beach, Sept 25, 1905 1:44 3-5 

m. ^ Glassful, 3, loi, Chicago (Wash'ton P'k), July 2, 1903.. 

i}s m. BoNNiBERT, 4, 120, Brighton Beach, July 30, 1902 1:51 

I 3-16 m. SciNTiLLANT H, 6, 109, Chicago (Harlem), Sept. i, 1902 1:57 2-5 

1/ j Banquet, 3. 108, Monm'th P'k (str'ht co'se), July 17, 1890 2:0324' 

^ "^' \ Broomstick, 3, 104, Brighton Beach, July 9, 1904 2:02 4-5 

I 5-16 m. Bedouin, 3, in, Belmont Park (L. I.), Oct. 2, 1905 2:10 3-5 

I m. 500 yds. Swift Wing, 5, 100, Latonia (Ky.), July 8, 1905 2:10 1-5 

1% miles Irish Lad, 4, 126, Sheepsh'd Bay (C. I.), June 25, 1904 2:17 3-5 

1^ " Goodrich, 3, 102, Chicago (Wash'ton P'k), July 16, 1898 2:303^^ 

1% " Africander, 3, 126, Sheepshead Bay (C. I.), July 7, 1903 2:45 1-5 

1% " Major Dangerfield, 4, 120, Morris Park, Oct. 3, 1903 2:57 

1% " Julius Caesar, 5, 108, New Orleans (La.), Feb. 27,1900 3:19 

.. j Judge Denny, 5. 105, Cal. J. C. Feb. 12, 1898 3--i>H 

( T£n Broeck, 5, no, Louisville, May 29, 1877 (ag'st time) 3:273! 



i83 



2% miles Joe Murphy. 4, 99, Chicago (Harlem), Aug. 30, 1894.. 3:42 

23^ " Ethelbert, 4, 124, Brighton Beach, Aug. 4, 1900 3:49 1-5 

23^ " Kyrat, 3, 88, Newport (Ky.), Nov. 18, 1899 4-24% 

2pg " Ten Broeck, 4, 104, Lexington, Sept. 16, 1876 4'S^}4. 

2% " Hubbard, 4, 107, Saratoga, N. Y., Aug. 9, 1873 4-S^/i 

3 " Elie, 4, 99, Cal. J. C. (Oakland), April 8, 1905 5:22 

!Lucrezia Borcha, 4, 85, Cal. J. C. (Oakland), May 20, 

1897 (against time) .- 7:11 

The Bachelor, a, n8, Cal. J. C. (Oakland), Feb. 22, 1899 7:163^ 



}^ mile 
3^ " 



HEAT RACES. 

Si.EEPV Dick, a, Kiowa (Kan,), Oct. 19, 1888 o 

Bob Wade, 4, Butte (Mont.), Aug. 16, 1890 o 

fEcLirsE, Jr., 4, Dallas (Tex.), Nov. i, 1890 0:48— 
Bogus, a, 113, Helena (Mont.), Aug. 22, 1888.. 
Bill Howard, 5, 122, Anaconda (Mont.), Aug. 
1895-- -- o: 

/ ,, ( KiTTiE Pease, 4, 82, Dallas (Tex.), Nov. 2, 1887 

^ } Fox, 4, 113, San Francisco (Cal.), Oct. 31, 1891-1:00 

fToM Hayes, 4, 107, Morris Park, June 17, i: 

£ " { (straight course) -. - I 

(_ Lizzies., 5, 118, Louisville, Sept. 28, 1883 i 

" Guido, 4, 117, Chicago (W'h'ton P'k), July 11, 189I--I 

(3 in 5) L'Argentine, 5, 115, St. Louis, June 14, 1879.-1:43- 

1-16 m. Smpalong, 5, 115, Chicago (Washington Park), Sept 

1885 I 

What-er-Lou, 5, 119, San Francisco (Ingleside), Feb. 

1899 - - 

Glenmore, 5, 114, Sheepshead Bay, Sept. 25 1880-- 
Patsy Duffy, a, 115, Sacramento (CaL), Sept. 
1884 2 

Miss Woodford, 4, 1073^, Sheepshead Bay, Sept. 
1884 

Norfolk, 4, 100, Sac'ra'to (Cal.), Sept. 23,1865. 5 



:2i3^ — 0:22'^ 
361^-0:36^^ 
-0:48—0:48 
.0:48—0:48 
17, 

473^—0:481/^ 
-i:oc — 1:00 
3-5—1:01 1-5 
892 

■.10^4—1:12% 
••13 '4— 1:133^ 



41^ 



-1:41 



iig m 



-1:44—1:473^ 
. 2, 

:5i3^-i:483^ 
18, 

-1:56—1:543^ 
-2:io — 2:14 
17. 

:4iX— 2:41 
20, 

-3:33— 3:3iV4 
=273^-5:29^ 



JAN 21 1907 







,0 q. 



,-0' 






^- .^ 

















o 0' 



\^°^. 



: xo^^. 



-^^^ 
><^. 



s^' : 












■■■'■•■ ' -. A^ 



^ ,> / ■■" \^ nl? 



■/'^ 



<"%. 












:*-' 






^"'.0^ 
.^^ 



^°^- 



""o/^, : 






% 



^0 '^ 









x^^.. 


















?:^ -n. 



\ 









!> -'-J^. 



:^/ 

K <i ' \^ 



xO°.. 












^ 







^ ' " * '^b. 






,x 



i X^ "^ 
x> *. ^ ° » 






>. 



A* ' 









